


Trust Masked Heroes

by KaizenKitty



Category: Charlotte (Anime), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Ableist Language, Abusive Todoroki Rei, Alive Todoroki Touya, All For One is Yuu Otosaka (from anime Charlotte), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Angry Bakugou Katsuki, Angry Midoriya Izuku, Anti-Hero, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, BDSM, BDSM Scene, Bad Husband Todoroki Enji | Endeavor, Bad Parent Nana Shimura, Bad Parent Todoroki Rei, Bakugou Katsuki Faces Consequences, Bakugou Katsuki Has A Crush, Bakugou Katsuki Joins The League of Villains, Bakugou Katsuki Needs a Hug, Bakugou Katsuki Redemption, Bakugou Katsuki is a Good Friend, Belligerent Sexual Tension, Bisexual Midoriya Izuku, Bisexual Toga Himiko, Bitchy Todoroki Shouto, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Bondage, Bottom Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Boys In Love, Brainwashing, Bullied Midoriya Izuku, Bully Bakugou Katsuki, Bullying, Canon Era, Canon Timeline, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Character Development, Chatting & Messaging, Cheating, Cheesy, Coming Out, Consensual, Consensual Sex, Consent, Conspiracy Theories, Coping, Crazy Toshinori Yagi | All Might, Crime Fighting, Cutting, Dabi is Not Todoroki Touya, Dabi is Not a Todoroki, Dabi is a Midoriya, Dark Comedy, Dead Midoriya Hisashi, Depression, Derogatory Language, Drama, Drama & Romance, Dystopia, Enthusiastic Consent, Espionage, Everyone Has Issues, Explicit Consent, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Fade to Black, False Identity, Family Drama, Fights, Fist Fights, Flirting, Flirty Aoyama Yuuga, Flirty Midoriya Izuku, Freedom, Freedom Fighters, Friends With Benefits, Friendship, Gallows Humor, Gamer Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Gaming, Gay Aoyama Yuuga, Gay Bakugou Katsuki, Gay Parents, Gay Sex, Genius Midoriya Izuku, Good Parent Bakugou Masaru, Good Parent Bakugou Mitsuki, Good Parent Midoriya Inko, Good Parent Sensei | All For One, Good Parent Todoroki Enji | Endeavor, Government Conspiracy, Government Experimentation, Hacker Midoriya Izuku, Hero Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hypocrisy, Identity Swap, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Sex, Inappropriate Humor, Innuendo, Insane Toshinori Yagi | All Might, Jealous Bakugou Katsuki, Kidnapping, Kinky, League of Villains Shenanigans (My Hero Academia), Light BDSM, Light Bondage, Little Brother Midoriya Izuku, Lonely Bakugou Katsuki, Lonely Todoroki Shouto, Loner Bakugou Katsuki, Love Triangles, M/M, Midoriya Izuku Has One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Has a Spine, Mineta Minoru Being Mineta Minoru, Mineta Minoru Has Diaper Fetish, Mineta Minoru Is Diaper Fetish, Minoru Mineta Has Diaper Fetish, Minoru Mineta Is Diaper Fetish, Miscommunication, Mistaken Identity, Misunderstandings, Morally Grey, Murder Mystery, Nurse Toga Himiko, Oblivious Bakugou Katsuki, Online Friendship, Open Relationships, Out of Character, Out of Character Midoriya Izuku, POV Bakugou Katsuki, POV Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Parental Sensei | All For One, Passion, Passive Aggressive, Past David Shield/Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Past Relationship(s), Pining Bakugou Katsuki, Policeman Toogata Mirio, Post-U.A. Cultural Festival Arc (My Hero Academia), Protective Bakugou Katsuki, Quirk Discrimination (My Hero Academia), Quirk Experimentation (My Hero Academia), Quirk Kink (My Hero Academia), Quirkless Toogata Mirio, Rebels, References to Depression, Regretful Bakugou Katsuki, Requited Love, Resistance, Revenge, Rivalry, Rumors, Sad, Sarcastic Midoriya Izuku, Sasaki Mirai | Sir Nighteye Lives, Secret Identity Fail, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Self-Worth Issues, Sensei | All For One is Not Midoriya Hisashi, Sex, Sexual Content, Sexual Humor, Sexual Tension, Shigaraki Tomura in Leather Pants, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko Needs a Hug, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko is Not a Villain, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko-centric, Shounen Fights, Side Story, Slice of Life, Slut Midoriya Izuku, Social Media, Spies & Secret Agents, Supportive League of Villains (My Hero Academia), Supportive Sensei | All For One, Teasing, Teenagers, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor Redemption, Top Chisaki Kai | Overhaul, Trolling, Twitter, U.A. Dorms (My Hero Academia), U.A. Dropouts (My Hero Academia), U.A. Has a Traitor (My Hero Academia), UA High Dropouts, Undercover Missions, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Lust, Vigilante Bakugou Katsuki, Vigilante Dabi (My Hero Academia), Vigilante League of Villains (My Hero Academia), Vigilante Midoriya Izuku, Vigilante Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Vigilante Toga Himiko, Violence, backhanded compliments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:08:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 30,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23989390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaizenKitty/pseuds/KaizenKitty
Summary: It started as a rumor on the internet: in a year or two, the government would take away everybody's quirk, allowing only a select few to keep their powers. Needless to say, Tenko Shimura was not happy about that. Especially considering he had failed to graduate UA High one year ago because of an administrative error, a stupid mistake on Mr. Aizawa's part, and therefore would not qualify for being one of the select few people who got to keep their quirk.Bakugo does not believe in rumors, but the statements showing up in his Twitter feed are worrying. When a person going by the Twitter handle of 'Lord Eruption Massacre' invites him to join an edgy Twitter group called 'The League of Villains', he doesn't know what he's in for.
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Amajiki Tamaki/Toogata Mirio, Aoyama Yuuga/Iida Tenya, Aoyama Yuuga/Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki & Kirishima Eijirou, Bakugou Katsuki & League of Villains, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki & Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki/Todoroki Shouto, Bakugou Katsuki/Tokoyami Fumikage, Bubaigawara Jin | Twice/Toga Himiko, Chisaki Kai | Overhaul/Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Dabi & Midoriya Izuku, Dabi & Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Dabi/Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, David Shield/Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Hagakure Tooru/Uraraka Ochako, Jirou Kyouka/Mineta Minoru, Kaminari Denki/Kirishima Eijirou, Midoriya Izuku & Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku & Toogata Mirio, Midoriya Izuku/Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku/Toga Himiko, Sasaki Mirai | Sir Nighteye/Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Tsukauchi Naomasa/Yagi Toshinori | All Might
Comments: 8
Kudos: 44





	1. Hidden Agenda

**Author's Note:**

> Slight OOC, maybe. =P  
> I (might have) given Izu-chan Midoriya-kun a personality flaw or two...
> 
> also this is basically Shigaraki in Leather Pants! (LOL if you know what Draco in Leather Pants means, then it's basically the analogous equivalent for Shigaraki...)
> 
> Or, a fic in which All For One is not cartoonishly evil, but is a successful businessman selling Quirk Comfort equipment that can help people gain some semblance of normality and control over their unruly quirks.
> 
> All For One is Yuu Otosaka (aged up) from the anime Charlotte.  
> the events of Charlotte happened in the same universe as My Hero Academia, but in another time period. In the early days of Heroes, back when only a small percentage of the population had Quirks.
> 
> A fic in which Toshinori Yagi is more crazy (like L Lawliet from Death Note) and morally grey.

At the end of the day, in bed with the lights off, Katsuki held his phone up to his face and scrolled through his Twitter feed. The website asked him to confirm he was not a robot, a tiresome charade that didn't really help cyber security, before his familiar green bunny avatar showed up. He used a cartoony picture he'd found online which reminded him of Deku's hero costume, under the Twitter handle @Pooka: the perfect cover to go anonymous online. No one would know this account was _his,_...unless he told them. Katsuki smiled. He had recently +followed a peculiar person who went by the handle of @Lord Eruption Massacre. Mostly for the retweets. @Lord Eruption Massacre retweeted daily, and often.

**@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Are _you_ going to let Them take your weapons away from you?

 **@Chemical Warfare:** Crap government turn us all into quirkless losers!

 **@The Greatest Showman:** This is the end of life as we know it.

 **@Dont Trouble Trouble Until Trouble Troubles You:** The end of Freedom????

 **@Shiklah:** Pack your bags. Leave the country. I did not elect this government. Who's with me?

 **@Dont Trouble Trouble Until Trouble Troubles You:** Marry me @Shiklah

 **@Shiklah:** Oh sweetie! @Dont Trouble Trouble Until Trouble Troubles You

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** @Shiklah , No. I will STAY and FIGHT.

 **@Shiklah:** Your loss. @Lord Eruption Massacre

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** I value your input greatly, @Lord Eruption Massacre !

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** @Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life , Thank you. With any luck we will win this battle against tyranny and obstruction of personal freedom.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** You are my Hero, @Lord Eruption Massacre !

Katsuki Bakugo groaned, burying his head in his pillow. _Of course,_ there was that Quirk Removal rumor again. By now it was all over social media, spreading like wildfire.

Earlier that year upperclassman Mirio Togata lost his powers in a freak accident when he was hit by a Quirk Destroying drug dart during his Hero Work-Studies. He was forced to drop out of UA High, and chose to pursue training as a police officer. It was all very sad, the Farewell Party class 3-A organized, the angry tears that spilled down stupid Deku's face. And then the rumors started.

**@Sweet But A Psycho:** A government experiment "gone wrong".

 **@The Greatest Showman:** UA High treats students as lab test subjects!

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** No they would never infect one of their own.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** What do you mean? Quirks are a disease.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** YOU are a disease!!

 **@Azulon:** "No you" responses sound very mature.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Oh shut up.

 **@Azulon:** Okay, I will.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Would it kill you to drop the snarky attitude?

 **@Azulon:** Yes.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** Haha!

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Don't YOU start.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** Why? Because you can't handle the truth? That quirks are an illness, slowly rotting your brain?

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** fffopxhhqwiugxhkqbclqgecbeqxxxsjhgsbbjssshhs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**@Lord Eruption Massacre:** If quirks are sickness, I'd rather be ill.

That was the tweet that made Katsuki hit +follow harder than ever before. He nearly smashed his phone screen.

Now he wondered whether he should unfollow @Lord Eruption Massacre, if all the guy was going to tweet about was unsubstantiated rumors... Katsuki was debating this, finger hovering above the picture of an erupting Shinmoedake, which was the guy's avatar. When suddenly he got a new notification. He had just received a DM from @Lord Eruption Massacre.

Katsuki scrambled to open the message, denying the thrill that shot through his bones.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Hey, figured we could talk. I'd rather not show my face, for personal reasons, but all I can say is I'm a UA High student, second year. And all these rumors that been going around got me worried. You see I'm not the best student in my class. If the government really passes this new law, I might end up quirkless. I can't really picture life without my quirk. Went through so much to develop control over it, and now this. What about yu?

Ten seconds later, he followed up with another DM.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** *you. (Sorry, typo.)

Katsuki grinned. _Oh,_ so the infamous @Lord Eruption Massacre was a grammar nazi. This could be interesting.

 **@Pooka:** eye two atttend YOU Ayy hi!

Katsuki typed back, leaning his chin on his fist.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Really? What are you, a first year?

Not the reaction Katsuki had hoped for. It was a little bit scary how this total stranger saw right through him. Yes, he _was_ a first year. But he was not about to let this guy know.

 **@Pooka:** chill. i was just pulling yur leg. you sound like a goddam Grammar Nazi, or maybe a teacher? lmao

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Ugh. And here I was thinking you looked mature.

Katsuki raised his eyebrows.

 **@Pooka:** what drew you in? the green rabbit?

He typed quickly, half snickering.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Forget about it.

The grin was back on Katsuki's face.

 **@Pooka:** you sound like a girl.

The response was almost instant.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** I'm not a grl!

Well, that ruled out thirty percent of the UA student population.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** *girl.

 **@Pooka:** nasi goreng

For awhile there was no reply. Katsuki thought he'd lost him. Probably muted or blocked. Katsuki shrugged, still worth it. Then his phone pinged again.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** You literally made me look up an Indonesian fried rice dish?

Katsuki smirked. The game was on!

 **@Pooka:** u mad?

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** No. I'm hungry. I want that fried rice dish. I want it now!

Hungry? Katsuki raised an eyebrow, and checked the time: it was close to ten PM.

 **@Pooka:** You should probably get your priorities straight if you still want to make top of your class.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Oh? So now you're typing normally.

 **@Pooka:** Well yeah. I'm talking to a moron that doesn't understand me otherwise.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Are you actually a student at UA?

Heh. Katsuki hadn't expected that type of response.

 **@Pooka:** Would you be mad if I wasn't?

But @Lord Eruption Massacre did not take the bait. Katsuki's brows grew closer together as he read the next DM.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Meet me in the courtyard of the class 2B building. Wear a disguise. Bring your phone. If you're truly a student, you should be able to get into the UA dorms.

Katsuki did not know what to reply for over a minute. His phone pinged.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Or are you chicken?

If there was one thing Katsuki was not, it was that.

 **@Pooka:** Oh, I'll be there. You better not hold out on me, Mister Massacre. I know where you live.

Katsuki jumped off his bed, turned on the lights, and started rifling through his closet, looking for something fittingly concealing. The black pants and tank top combo would have to do. Once he fixed a tanuki mask around his neck, he grabbed his phone, to find @Lord Eruption Massacre had already responded.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** I'm not in class 2B.

Katsuki snorted, banging the door shut after him, and racing down the stairs.

 **@Pooka:** Then ur in classs 2a

He hurriedly typed. When Katsuki slipped out into the cool night he'd wished he'd brought a jacket. Goosebumps ran over his bare arms, or maybe it was from the thrill of what he was about to do. As he approached the second year buildings, he pushed the tanuki mask up his face.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Not in class 2A either, Loser.

Katsuki let out a soft laugh, walking while typing. He liked this guy.

 **@Pooka:** Who you callin loser, loser?

Once he'd reached the 2-B building, he heard someone call after him.

"Kachi kachi yama," said a decidedly sarcastic voice from behind.

Katsuki froze, then mentally shook himself. There was no way this stranger from Twitter knew who he was.The voice sounded rather familiar, but he had trouble placing it. The voice he heard tonight was somehow slightly distorted, like the guy was talking through a scarf. He reckoned he must have heard it at the School Festival or something, if they both went to UA.

Katsuki turned, and faced a surprisingly _short_ kid, ...well 'short' for a second year. He figured it must be something like Mineta's absent growth spurt, so he didn't comment on it. The other boy wore a kappa mask that concealed all of his hair and face. An army jacket was draped over his shoulders, besides that he had on a black T-shirt, brown cargo pants, and plain white sneakers.

"You have a thing for fire crackle mountains," Katsuki snapped back. "Don't you, _Lord Eruption Massacre?"_

"Fancy that," the stranger spoke in his softly mocking tone, "I would never have guessed the rabbit turns into a tanuki by night."

Their voices were muffled by their masks. Ah, so Japanese folklore, that's what he was going for, eh? Well, Katsuki could play on this field.

"Are you here to steal the shirikodama from my anus?" he said without breaking a sweat.

The other boy chuckled. Katsuki thought he heard his voice crack. _Hmmm..._ _might_ be a first year after all.

"Only if you want me to."

Wait... _what?_ Katsuki's arms fell to his sides and he ended up dropping his phone. It skidded over the pavement before disappearing behind a bush. Oh _great._

As he bent over to pick up his phone, he _could hear_ the other guy _laughing._

"That was easy. Usually I have to do a lot more flirting to get a guy to present me with his ass."

Katsuki stood with a huff. "Okay so what's the deal?" he demanded, ignoring the sexual remark completely. "Why'd you have to drag me out here?"

The guy behind @Lord Eruption Massacre shrugged. "Had to make sure you were real."

"Okay so, I'm not a robot." Katsuki made a sweeping gesture with his arms, this time gripping his phone tight, to keep it from clattering to the ground. "Now what?"

"The things I was retweeting,"

"Yeah?" Katsuki nodded.

"they're not just rumors."

Katsuki frowned under the mask.

"It's all very real. In two years' time, the government is going to take away the quirks of everyone who does not possess a Hero License."

Katsuki Bakugo's jaw fell open. He didn't even have his Provisional License yet.

"They're also working out plans to tighten the licensing procedure. Only about a hundred Pro Heroes would practice in Japan at any given moment. Under this new law, retired Pro Heroes would have to _'give up their quirks'_."

This made Bakugo mad. "How can people allow this to happen?"

"We won't allow it," said the slightly mocking, familiar voice. "We are The Resistance."

His hand shot out suddenly, holding a phone. And he typed something that Katsuki couldn't read from this angle. Then his own phone pinged. Katsuki clicked on the notification.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre** has invited you to join **The League of Villains.** Accept, or decline?

Katsuki barely spared it a second thought before hitting 'Accept'.

"Awesome," said the other guy. "Then, I'll see you around."

He waved a little awkwardly then swerved on his heel, direction 2-B building, as if to go. Katsuki grabbed his right wrist before the guy could get away.

"Wait!"

The guy froze.

Katsuki let out a heavy breath. "Look: I need a better way of referring to you than _'Lord Eruption Massacre'._ That's kind of... a lot of words, you know."

The other guy snickered. Katsuki only tightened his grip.

"Okay okay, how about you call me 'Kazan', spelled 火山, whenever we meet offline?"

Katsuki groaned. " _Volcano,_ really?"

"Take it or leave it, _Pooka."_

An angry grunt left Bakugo's nostrils, but his vice grip on Kazan's wrist let off. Moments after, Kazan had gone back to his dorm. While Katsuki stood out there in the dark street, wondering what he was doing.

~ ~ ~

Ever since dropping out of UA High without a diploma, Tenko Shimura's life had been rough. He did the odd job to get by. He had worked in demolition. If there was one thing Shimura was good at, it was destroying things: things like his own future, blocks of concrete, and other people. He had worked at a general waste disposal facility, where they told him to _leave,_ because he had made the recyclables decay on accident. He was still waiting on a response from the hazardous waste facility where he had applied for work, between jobs at the moment. His foster father always did reassure him, and told him to just "try again" if things did not work out the first time.

So far this strategy had worked... _reasonably_ well for him. Tenko had begun to see his life as a giant RPG game, one where you had limited EXP, forever dwindling HP, and _somehow_ had to make ends meet within a limited time frame.

Suffice to say that he barely slept and abused alcohol whenever he could afford to buy some. Things weren't _all bad_ though. Once he had overcome his initial anxiety and feelings of inadequacy when introducing himself to new people, he finally 'bit the bullet' and met up with some folks he knew from Twitter. In public, at first. He got to know Atsuhiro Sako, Jin Bubaigawara and Himiko Toga better, and eventually they became rather good friends.

This was a lot different from the _'friendships'_ he'd formed at UA, if you could even call them that. The friendships that fizzled out when he failed to get his Hero License and quit UA like a loser. His current friendships were nothing like that. He felt he could really trust these new people, he didn't have to compete with them: in quirk control, or social grace. They accepted him for who he was; a broken man, but still... _a man._

Muscular, Dabi, Mustard and Moonfish were sort of a 'new addition' to their group. Tenko felt that he didn't know them all too well, because they wouldn't trust him with their _real names_ , not yet. That was par for the course with new friendships, so it didn't bother Tenko one bit. He himself had been super cautious around his internet buddies at first. What if one of them turned out to be a murderous psycho?

Better safe than sorry, Tenko supposed. Moonfish had a history with mental health issues, for one thing. The poor guy had been institutionalized _five times_ since he was _fourteen_ years old. He still wore a straightjacket on some days, ...'for comfort'.

But if his friends could accept him, then Tenko could show some tolerance to their various oddities. Even if sometimes, quite frankly, it pained him to look at them. Dabi's face was half peeled off.

Tenko did not know how _that_ had happened. He hadn't had the chance to ask. He probably wouldn't want to know, either. Still it was difficult to watch his friend's face in the half dark sometimes while chilling with some beers and watching bad TV.

He could not picture himself falling head over heels for Dabi, no matter how hard he tried. They'd done it one, maybe two times. When Tenko was too drunk to care what his partner looked like, in the dark.

Waking up to peeled skin arms circled around him had been something straight out of a nightmare. He had _tried_ to not let his _utter disgust_ and _revulsion_ show on his face. He had sat up stiffly, discarded his sweaty artist gloves and made coffee for the both of them. And then they had played Call of Duty, like nothing had ever happened between them.

Dabi didn't seem to be much taken with him either. Tenko didn't blame him; he knew he was trash.

Tonight he was having a few friends over. Himiko reclined on his sofa, her head half in Jin's lap, phone in her hands, while Jin was having a lengthy conversation with himself. Atsuhiro and Tenko were sprawled out on the floor by the TV, playing Grand Theft Auto 6. The Kid, that was how he sometimes referred to Mustard, a scrawny little middle schooler with a scent-based quirk, was mixing Cola with Fanta at the kitchen counter. While Dabi was half hanging out of the window, smoking a cigarette.

It didn't take long before Tenko lost the game, crashing his car into a dumpster of all things. The game ended with banana peels and used menstrual pads sliding down his windscreen before he got surrounded by cops. Atsuhiro giggled right next to him.

"This is why I'm the designated driver," the man said, sounding so full of himself.

Tenko groaned. " _Chill,_ it's just a game." He stood on shaky legs, turning towards the window, and ran his eyes over Dabi's black skinny jeans, how they wrapped around his thighs. He stopped at the waist, unwilling to see the parts of his friend that weren't attractive. "And the reason I never drive is because I don't have a car, and can't afford to pay for gas. Not because I can't drive, you dipshit."

"Uh huh, sure," said Atsuhiro, not in the slightest bit convinced.

Tenko hunched his back, hands in his pockets, and stalked over to the window. Dabi looked up when he approached. He offered him his cigarette. Tenko took it between his teeth, sucked on it. Bitter smoke filled his lungs. Dabi gave an appreciative hum.

Breathing out, Tenko took the cigarette between two fingers, and deftly put it back in Dabi's mouth.

His phone buzzed, sending soft vibrations to his crotch. Tenko pulled his phone from his sweatpants, gripping the device between his thumb and index, and awkwardly tapped at it with the index finger of his other hand.

It was an automated notification from his Twitter group **The League of Villains.** Apparently his group had obtained a new recruit. Tenko narrowed his eyes, reading the username on the tiny screen. He didn't remember seeing this guy around.

An obnoxious green bunny avatar, along with the equally _absurd_ Twitter handle @Pooka. Tenko figured it must have been a mistake. Some noob joined their Twitter group by accident, or one of the group members was trolling him under a fake alt. Dabi read along over his shoulder, snorted with laughter, then leaned back against the window frame.

Tenko brought up the list of members, ready to remove @Pooka from the group, when his finger paused mid-scroll. He zeroed in on a very familiar name. A name that _shouldn't_ have been on the list, under any circumstances.

What the absolute FUCK. _When_ had this happened, and _how_ had he _not_ been given the chance to veto the invitation? Hunched over his phone, Tenko glanced about his living room, fixing each of his friends with a menacing look.

" _Who_ invited Dr. Schnabel to the group?"

For the better part of a minute, none of these pussies spoke up. Tenko let his eyes narrow to slits. Jin jerked on the sofa, almost pushing Himiko off it.

"I did," he said.

Then, seconds later, in a dramatic tone of voice, Jin followed up with: " _No! I didn't do it!"_

Tenko groaned.

"You gotta _believe me!"_ Jin cried, followed up with a cool and snarky:

"Look, even a humorless man like him can see reason. I'm sure of it. If he sees the group threads, he's bound to see that he's wrong. That Quirks aren't a disease. This could be good for us," Jin said. "We should really try and bring the sceptics on side."

 _If he sees the group threads._ Oh God. Tenko was _fucked,_ he was absolutely, royally, massively screwed. His fingers found their way to his scalp. Scratch, scratch _scratch._

Dabi stepped in close, raising his phone to Tenko's eye level. The old blue flame avatar showed up, as Dabi logged in to Twitter. In all his time of knowing Dabi, the man hadn't changed his avatar once. @Azulon opened up The League of Villains' admin section.

"Shall I kick him out?" Dabi purred into Tenko's ear.

He sighed. "It's no use. He's already seen everything. Throwing him out _now_ would be rather pointless."

"Oh," Dabi said, lowering his phone. He sounded hurt. Tenko glanced over his shoulder. But his friend's cut up face didn't tell him anything.

Tenko guessed some of Dabi's facial muscles no longer worked. At times his friend's emotions did not transfer well to his face.

"No," Tenko said, addressing the group, "what we need now is to outmanoeuvre him."

Clearly confused, Mustard frowned at him, then sipped from his Coca-Fanta concoction.

Tenko smiled, then resumed his speech. "To throw him for a loop. And I have just the plan." He tapped away at his phone, starting a new Group DM session. Alerts spread through the room, as everyone here tonight received an invite. Thinking on his feet, he invited @Lord Eruption Massacre at the last minute.

"And... _done,"_ Tenko sat himself on the windowsill, leaning back with a satisfied smile. Now all he needed was to wait. The trap was set, his prey would surely come.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** How nice of you to invite me, Facepalm guy.

Tenko growled.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** I felt sorry for your sad existence. Seems you don't have anyone to hang with, so you waste your days trolling children on social media.

He wrote back; lips pursed, eyes narrowed in concentration. Himiko giggled from her position on the sofa, before joining the chat.

 **@Shiklah:** _Hello_ Honey, do you practice reproductive medicine?

Her cheeks had gone crimson as she rolled over in Jin's lap. Tenko shook his head at her.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** I have a different speciality.

Mustard put his Coca-Fanta down, and typed something on his phone:

 **@Chemical Warfare:** And what would that speciality be?

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Wait, lemme guess. You put people to sleep. One talk from you is all the anaesthesia they'll ever need before they go under the knife.

Dabi sent him a disapproving look. But Atsuhiro grinned, grabbed his own phone and started typing.

 **@The Greatest Showman:** ROFLMFAO! I'm feeling drowsy already. @Shiklah TMH tonight.

Tenko couldn't supress a giggle at what he was about to write.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Is that your Quirk? Being so impossibly boring even the kids you troll fall asleep?

Jin snorted into his hand. Tenko's living room filled with Himiko's unrestrained howling teary-eyed laughter.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** _While_ you're trolling them?

Shifting on the sofa so he was more comfortable, and not squished underneath Himiko, Jin started typing.

 **@Dont Trouble Trouble Until Trouble Troubles You:** Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........................

The chat went silent for awhile, before a new message popped up.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** LOL. Why is everyone bullying the new guy? What'd he do?

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** They're all mentally ill.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** _HEY!_

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** DISEASED.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Okay, okay, okay, don't scream in all caps at me. Can we _not_ insult people. Can we keep the chat civil, _please._ Why? What makes you think my friends aren't right in the head?

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** They've all got Quirks.

There was a pause in the chat, as @Lord Eruption Massacre was typing. He seemed to rethink what he was about to say, and finally came up with this.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Are you quirkless?

Hoots of amusement erupted over Tenko's living room.

"You were so scared of him, and all along he was just a quirkless loser!" Atsuhiro yelled, hacking from laughter.

Tenko puckered his lips. " _Hey,_ I _wasn't_ scared."

"Sure you were, sure you were Shimura," The Kid chimed in.

Then they all saw what Dr. Schnabel had replied...

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** No, I possess a dangerous Quirk, or rather, _it_ possesses _me._

Tenko stilled at those words. He knew what that was like, being a vessel for a Destructive Quirk. For the longest time he had thought he wasn't fit for anything but destruction. Not until his foster father had stepped in and shown him there was another way, that he could lead a semblance of a normal life with the right Quirk Comfort products, manufactured and sold by All For One corporation.

Still Tenko often felt that his Quirk was useless to everyone, even to himself.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** So you'd rather be rid of it, is that it?

Tenko had to shake himself for a moment to grasp that @Lord Eruption Massacre was not responding to _him personally._

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** Wouldn't everyone rather lead a quiet and peaceful life, unaffected by Quirks?

 **@Azulon:** I wouldn't, no.

Dabi had finally joined the chat. Tenko smirked at him.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** Well then you would be one of the hundred Heroes operating in Japan, @Azulon. Why do you insist the rest of us suffer through this along with you?

Dabi started hurriedly typing, his face unreadable.

 **@Azulon:** I am not currently in training to become a Pro Hero. And even if I was, you can't do that to other people. This is not a decision you can make for them. A lot of people have beneficial Quirks. Their livelihoods depend on their Quirks. You can't just take that away from them.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** Humans have become too reliant on supernatural abilities. As a species, we have lost our ability to survive in this harsh world.

Tenko read the Doctor's words. Read them over and over again, trying to decipher the meaning behind them.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Aren't quirks just the next step in human evolution? You can't fight progress.

 **@Chemical Warfare:** I like the way you think, @Lord Eruption Massacre.

 **@Dont Trouble Trouble Until Trouble Troubles You:** _Careful,_ @Lord Eruption Massacre has a boyfriend.

The Kid's face flushed bright red. Tenko raised his eyebrows.

 **@Chemical Warfare:** I _WAS'NT_ flirting with @Lord Eruption Massacre! I'm not even into guys.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Hush kids, don't fight over me. Daddy's got enough love for everyone.

Himiko giggled into her sleeve.

 **@Shiklah:** Ohhh, that is _so WRONG!_ butt iLike it.

Tenko rolled his eyes at the juvenile scene. He was too mature for this. At some point his eyes met Dabi's, and the other man approached him. Tentatively Tenko hooked a finger in a front belt loop of the other man's black jeans.

Dabi pointed at the hand stuck to Tenko's forehead. "Can you take that off?" he said gently, so that only Tenko would hear.

"Why?" Tenko smiled.

The hand stood for his Conscience. It was the left hand of former Pro Hero Nana Shimura, his grandmother, who had died a quiet natural death after retiring from the Hero business. His grandmother had always disapproved of him, ever since Tenko had decayed his own parents and sister to dust, when he was only four years old, saddled with a destructive quirk he knew not how to master.

This way his grandmother would always be a part of him. Her left hand resting on his forehead. And her morals and values would keep his impulses in check. Pro Hero Nana Shimura was Tenko's Conscience.

"Plan to make me act against my Conscience?" Tenko asked Dabi with a subtle smile.

"No," Dabi retorted. "Just looks creepy."

Like _you're one to talk._ Tenko only growled in response, before releasing his hold on Dabi's pants, and stalking off to another corner of the room. He checked his phone. The rest were still at it, putting their immature humor on display. Tenko scrolled through a chain of lame jokes. The Doctor had replied.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** I suppose this all boils down to differences of opinion. We can agree to disagree.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** @Doctor Schnabel from Rome , we should meet. Just you and me. Public place of your choosing. What do you say?

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** Oh. Singing a different tune now, are we?

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Can't help my boundless curiosity. Would you show me your quirk Doctor? I want to see what it does.

There were layers upon layers of subtext in the next response Tenko got.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** Curiosity strangled the neko.

Two of Tenko's fingers traveled up to his neck. Scratch _scratch._

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** Still wanna see me?

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** DM me the address. Choose someplace public. Saturdays and Sundays are good for me.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** Alright neko-chan, I'll contact you as soon as I think of a public place where the two of us can be alone.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome** has left the Group chat.

Tenko did a double take. Eyes wide, he stared at his phone screen. He ambled to the kitchen and fixed himself a stronger drink. Beer wasn't going to cut it tonight.

A cheap brandy would do. The burning sensation sloshed down Tenko's throat. He sighed, slumping against the counter, feeling his knees go weak. Just then his phone buzzed with a notification. He had received a private DM from the group's insider on UA High turf. He wondered what this was about, opening the message.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Hey, I've invited one of my classmates to the group. Hope you don't mind.

Tenko groaned, facepalming, careful to keep his left pinky off his face.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** I see, so Pooka one of yours?

He typed with his right index finger. The reply came pretty fast. It surprised him that the boy was still up this late, when he had training and school in the morning. Did he ever sleep?

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Yes. You can trust him.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Go to sleep, it's LATE and you got school tomorrow.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Okay Mom!

 _Ugh._ Tenko rolled his eyes.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** I'm only looking out for a fellow team member.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** "Fellow"? I've always seen you as our Leader.

Tenko smiled at the compliment.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Hardly. You are just as important to our mission, if not more so. You are an integral part of the plan. Without you, there would be no mission. So please take good care of yourself. You need to SLEEP. NOW. GO TO BED. That is an order.

He thought the kid had finally gone to bed, when another DM came from the guy.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** You're sweet. And I'm not trying to be sarcastic.

Tenko put his phone on the kitchen counter, screen down. He needed another drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fanfic inspired by Zen-Kun's Nightcore video "Burn The House Down" and YKB_Reck's fanart of Bakugo.
> 
> Okay so, did I make it painfully obvious who the guy in the kappa mask is? :-) Who do you think @Lord Eruption Massacre is?
> 
> And, did you get the feeling that @Lord Eruption Massacre has already recognized Bakugo? Or do you feel like he doesn't (yet) know the true identity of @Pooka?
> 
> Also please tell me if this is too cheesy... I'll (try to) go easier on the cheese. XD


	2. Hostile Intent

At breakfast next morning Deku and Aoyama were almost obnoxiously cute. Like they were trying to rub it in everyone's faces they were dating. Aoyama _fed Deku by hand,_ stuffing bits of cinnamon roll _into his mouth._ To which Deku responded by _moaning loudly_ as he chewed, and smacking his lips in an almost obscene fashion. At breakfast, with the whole Class 1-A watching.

Like, _okay_ they had been boyfriends for awhile now (which honestly surprised everyone in Class 1-A, as they'd all thought Deku had a massive crush on Uraraka, ...apparently _not..._ when the curtain unexpectedly lifted during Class 1-A's musical performance at the School Festival, everyone was _very_ surprised to find Deku _and Aoyama_ making out backstage...). But did they _have to be_ so public about it? It felt more like they were putting on a show for the class, faking it for attention, rather than engaging in genuine Public Display of Affection. Katsuki wolfed down his breakfast burrito, and went to class. On his way there, Kazan messaged him.

**@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Morning @Pooka , slept well?

Katsuki shoved his phone back in his pocket. He would deal with that asshole later. When he reached the classroom, Yaoyorozu was already sitting in the back, going over her notes. Katsuki felt it couldn't hurt to do some studying himself, before the other morons arrived, so he took his seat by the front, and flipped open his textbook at page ninety-nine.

In groups of twos and threes, his classmates started filing in. Katsuki put his book down. Most of his classmates avoided making eye contact. Only Kirishima gave him somewhat of a half-nod, but even that was more like a military salute than a friendly gesture. Deku looked awkward as he tip-toed around Katsuki's desk to reach his seat. He had a red welt on his right wrist. Dumbass tried to hide it when Katsuki noticed, pulling down his sleeve. Like _that_ would quash the mental image of Aoyama and Deku practicing handcuff shenanigans in the UA dorms.

The lesson started when Pro Hero Snipe walked in the room, and performed a projectile launcher demonstration by shooting two holes into the wall. That got everyone's attention.

Lunchtime rolled around, and everyone fled the classroom. Everyone but Bakugo. He ate his bento box of plain steamed rice at his desk, alone.

Not many people at UA liked Bakugo. And that was okay, he wasn't here to be _liked._ But everyone downright _hated_ him after Deku had gone and blabbed that he used to bully Deku in Middle School. Even his best school friend, Kirishima, who had been so supportive of him up to that point, didn't look at him with the same eyes anymore.

It was all stupid Deku's fault. Didn't he know? Couldn't he tell Katsuki had _only_ been so hard on him to _keep him out_ of danger. The guy was so addicted to self harm, it was crazy.

Katsuki still remembered that moment ten years ago, clear as day. When Deku's mom took him aside on a rainy July afternoon, having read Deku's stupid Tanabata wish on that colored slip of paper tied to the bamboo branch in the Midoriya living room.

"Please Kacchan," the woman had said, clasping Katsuki's hand. "Convince him to drop the Hero business."

Katsuki had stared right back at Izuku's mom, eyes wide.

"Lots of young boys dream of being Heroes when they grow up," she went on. "But most of them find passion for another career. Something that suits them better."

Tears spilled from the corners of her eyes; they reminded Katsuki of Izuku's... so wide and green.

"Zuzu doesn't have a Quirk. If he tries to be a Pro Hero, it could kill him."

Something stilled in Katsuki, a scary, deafening silence. He pictured Izuku: small, soft little Zuzu, who smiled at the daisies and wore his heart on his sleeve. Izuku's mom was right. Izuku was utterly defenseless. If anything serious were to happen to him, it would be bad.

"I don't think going Pro Hero is the right path for my Zuzu. But he doesn't listen to a word I say. I can't get through to him. He listens to you, Kacchan."

Katsuki frowned. He wasn't quite sure of _that,_ but whatever.

"Will you help me change Zuzu's mind? Please Kacchan, convince him to give up on becoming a Pro Hero."

He nodded once.

Izuku's mom beamed at him. "Thank you Kacchan! I knew I could count on you."

Accountable, that was what he was. People could always count on him, ...his school friends, ...their parents, ...his teachers. From an early age Katsuki knew he had no right to make a mistake. Everyone was counting on him. And he would _not_ let them down. Because that was what it meant to be a hero: being someone others could rely on.

And he didn't give _two fucks_ if that meant _no one_ liked him. At least they could _count on him,_ which was more than could be said about most people. Katsuki Bakugo was a Hero, with or without Provisional License.

Once he was finally done with school for the day, Katsuki turned on his phone, and scrolled through a backlog of messages.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Forecast says weather's gonna be good today. Seventy seven degrees!

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Okay, gotta go for class. Talk to you later @Pooka .

Katsuki snorted. Only the utter Grammar Nazi that was _Kazan_ would type out "talk to you later", when he could have written TTYL.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** What are you doing for lunch?

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Hey @Pooka !

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Hey, are you ghosting me?

Katsuki laughed. Yes, that was exactly what he'd done. To be fair, he'd had a reasonable excuse for it at the time: Kazan's first message this morning had been quite scathing, and Katsuki just wasn't in the mood.

He felt he needed to be top of his game just to interact with the guy. @Lord Eruption Massacre was thinking a mile a minute, his quick wit keeping Katsuki on his toes. And this morning, Katsuki just hadn't been in the right headspace to be a willing participant in Kazan's mind games.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Not cool man, _not cool!_

A soft smile remained on Katsuki's lips. Okay, maybe someone liked him after all. It was a strange feeling, making him go all warm and gooey inside.

 **@RedRiot:** Hi Bakugo! I've got a few questions about Ballistics class today. Could I run them by you?

That one was from Kirishima. He answered it straight away; from his legit Twitter profile, the one that had his picture and everything.

 **@Ground Zero:** Sure. Meet me at the cafeteria.

It was good to see Kirishima finally put some thought into his school work, rather than keep dragging the average down. The main point Kirishima failed to grasp, it appeared, was how to calculate the trajectory of a liquid projectile. Such as a sedative dart or a poison dart or general drug darts, ...the like.

By the time Katsuki had finished drilling the lesson into that bonehead's skull, it was dark outside. Katsuki yawned, he felt like going to sleep. Skipping dinner, he went straight upstairs and collapsed on his bed, still wearing his school uniform.

His phone fell from his pocket. Lazily he reached for it, opened up Twitter and typed out a response to Kazan.

 **@Pooka:** Sorry, I just... had a stressful day at school. Didn't even know the weather was that good today: I spent most of it indoors. What about you, @Lord Eruption Massacre? Did you get to go outside?

When there was no response for over half an hour, Katsuki figured he should just give up and get some sleep while he could. He hadn't noticed that it was dinner time for most students at UA High, and blinked in confusion when he was rudely awoken by loud pinging next to his ear.

Kazan was messaging him. Katsuki checked the time: 20:20.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Yes I had lunch in the park. Sorry to hear about your day.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Here, maybe this song will cheer you up:

The message came with a video attachment. Katsuki clicked on it. A really shitty nightcore of Daniel Powter's _You had a bad day_ blasted through his room.

Katsuki snorted, and couldn't help the smile that grew on his lips.

 **@Pooka:** If the goal was to make me laugh, you just succeeded.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Mission accomplished.

Was it bad that Katsuki could picture him at that moment, blowing on a smoking gun?

 **@Pooka:** You doing anything tonight? My schedule's wide open.

Yes, Katsuki had it pretty bad. He recognized the bubbly sensation in his stomach, and _all that_ for a masked stranger. Dammit this was stupid, but the feelings wouldn't go away.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Meet me on the roof of the school building in thirty minutes. North wing.

Katsuki blinked.

 **@Pooka:** On the roof?

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Yeah.

 **@Pooka:** Why the roof?

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Pussying out, are we?

Katsuki furiously typed another message before tossing his phone on the sheets and hopping out of bed.

 **@Pooka:** Shouldn't you be more _concerned_ with your class ranking? If you get caught climbing rooftops at night, the consequences will be worse for a second year.

He shrugged on a hoodie, leaving it unzipped. This time Katsuki thought to put the hood over his head. He slipped his tanuki mask on; good to go. Only a tiny fraction of his chin was still visible below the mask.

He kept his head down as he made his way toward the exit of the 1-A building, so nobody would see the mask he wore. From the corner of his eye he watched his classmates go about their business, completely ignoring him.

Aoyama sat on the Common Room sofa, this time without Deku attached to his hip. He was sipping on a juice carton and playing a game of Guess Who? with Iida. ...Iida was clearly winning.

He almost got away with no one noticing. But _no,_ couldn't have _that._ Because nothing was working in Katsuki's favor these days. Dark Shadow followed him out the door, into the night.

" _Where_ are you going this late?" he heard Tokoyami's voice call after him.

Katsuki shifted his mask so he could talk normally, but didn't turn around to face him.

"Nowhere. I just want to be alone."

Tokoyami wouldn't take a hint. "At _night?"_ he asked incredulously.

Katsuki sighed. He couldn't fault his classmates for hooking up at the School Festival. He had done so himself. After the show, he had taken Tokoyami round the back of the equipment shed, and made out with him till they were both out of breath.

The classic bassist and drummer chemistry. Throughout the entire performance he had felt it. This pull toward Tokoyami, in the rhythm, in the music. It felt like they'd been working up to something.

Although now, weeks later, back in the grind of school and harsh reality where everyone in Class 1-A was a roadblock, someone to compete against, surpass, and ultimately defeat, ...They weren't exactly dating.

"Look, I just... need some time by myself," Katsuki spoke, gazing at the steps on which he stood. "Thought you of all people would understand."

Something hitched in Tokoyami's throat. Moments after Katsuki felt Dark Shadow envelop him from behind. He tensed, and scrambled to hide the tanuki mask away inside his hoodie. Then he pushed the hood off his head.

Soft feathers tickled him in the neck. He looked to his right to find Tokoyami's chin resting on his shoulder. Katsuki slumped into the other guy. Maybe all he needed was a hug, that came when he least expected it. Maybe it was selfish, to use Tokoyami like this. Then again, perhaps they were both fulfilling each other's needs, clinging to each other because there was no one else to cling to. If that was an accurate description of what was happening here, Katsuki could afford to be a little selfish.

They stood like that for the longest time, locked in a warm embrace. Without a word Tokoyami let him go, and drifted back to their dorms, retreating as quietly as he had approached. Katsuki frowned at the night. Then he shook his head, and continued his trek up to the school roof. Hood pulled low for cover, tanuki mask back on his face. It was a little over nine. He was late.

There was no one on the school rooftop when he arrived there. The place was deserted. Not for the first time that night, Katsuki frowned. Was he too late? Had he missed Kazan by a mere matter of minutes? Or had he been trolled? He took his phone out and read Kazan's response.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** I'm too good to get caught.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Though maybe I should be worried about _you._

 _The asshole!_ Katsuki felt his face heat up as he half-strangled his phone to death.

He half expected the search lights to come on all at once, and Aizawa's deadpan voice to come through the speakers, telling him he was grounded. But that didn't happen. What _did_ happen though, was that he was _hugged_ from behind _a second time that night._

Katsuki tensed, thinking it was an attack.

But the other person did nothing, except just stay there. Glued to his back.

" _Kazan?"_ he finally asked.

The voice that came out was muffled by fabric. "You looked like you needed one. A hug."

Katsuki broke free from the hold, and spun on his heel. Oh it was the kappa mask wearing bastard alright. He glared at the guy, though that obviously didn't translate well through his mask.

Thinking _of,_ how _long_ were they going to keep dancing around the fact they _still_ didn't know a thing about each other?

"I won't judge you if you have a bad case of acne," said Katsuki. "It's okay, you can show me your face."

Kazan laughed, bringing a hand up to his kappa mask. His hand was criss-crossed with scars. The cuff of his green camo jacket went over his wrist, obscuring it from view.

"Are you sure you want that, _Pooka?"_ the nickname was said with such _derision._

Katsuki huffed, then crossed his arms over his chest. "It can't be because you still don't trust me. After all, you invited me to your edgy Twitter group."

Katsuki had scrolled through it the night before, mentally cataloging a few threads to study later. Kazan sounded oddly contemplative when he said:

"You still don't understand the gravity of our situation."

Without really meaning to, Katsuki took a step back. "What do you mean?"

There was something dark and sinister in Kazan's way of speaking. Like he held the secrets to the universe in his scarred hands.

"Pooka, listen to me, and listen closely. I don't want _anything_ I say tonight to be spread on social media."

Katsuki gulped, though quickly nodded his head. Kazan took a step closer to him, and went on in a harsh whisper.

"I am a spy for The League, working undercover to gather information about the government and their plans surrounding Quirk Removal."

Katsuki stilled.

"Several teachers here, including Eraserhead and All Might, are directly connected to the government. I've been trying to get close to them, gain their trust. If word gets out that I'm secretly working with people our government has labelled villains, the whole operation will fall apart."

Wait, _Villains?_ Hell no, Katsuki was way out of his league. Completely in over his head. Stupid, stupid _stupid._

"My identity is a closely guarded secret by the Leader of The League. He is my only contact with the outside world. Only he knows who I am."

A shiver ran over Katsuki's body. This guy in the kappa mask, this UA student, _Kazan,_ the guy he had a crush on, was ... _a Villain?_

Kazan sighed. "I know this is a bit _much_ to process all at once. But you've got to understand, not all villains are evil kitten-killing monsters."

The guy took some steps back, as if reconsidering. His arms dropped to his sides. Katsuki stared at him, drinking in every detail.

"And some villains," Kazan continued, "aren't really villains at all. Just _people_ who are inconvenient for our government."

He said those last words in a half-mutter, turning his head to the side,

"So," Katsuki uncomfortably started, making Kazan whip his head up. "Which type of Villain are you?"

"I'm no Villain," the guy beamed. "I'm a _Hero."_

Katsuki groaned. "But you _would_ be considered a Villain once word got out _what_ you were doing at UA."

All _that_ earned him was a shrug from Kazan. "I guess. I'd rather not find out though."

Katsuki gripped at his hoodie to keep himself from combusting right then and there. He felt the explosive sweat drip down his back. What was the rule book here? Should he fight this guy and risk exposing his own identity to a potentially dangerous criminal? Should he _run_ and alert the UA staff? He might not make it in time. If this guy had a speed-based quirk, or a trapping quirk. _Dammit_ he knew next to _nothing about this guy!_ He didn't even know his quirk.

At that moment Katsuki realized that he hadn't told anyone where he was going. Nobody knew where he was. Well, _fuck._

Kazan approached him confidently. Katsuki took a shaky step back. They kept repeating this dance till Kazan had him pinned to the edge of the rooftop, above a two-hundred-and-fifty foot drop.

Okay, maybe if he activated his quirk in time, he might be able to cushion his landing... But still, Katsuki wasn't coming out of _this_ without a few scratches.

"Hey Pooka,"

Katsuki felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at Kazan. The kappa mask mockingly grinned back.

"if a Hero told you he was going to take your father's quirk, take your mother's quirk, and that you should just trust him to keep the peace in our country. Would you go along with that?"

Kazan pressed him up against the low barrier lining the roof. His thighs pushed into Katsuki's, unrelenting. Katsuki felt that his next answer would determine how the rest of the night would go.

He shook his head wildly. "No. There's no way I could accept something like that."

Kazan seemed pleased with his answer, because he leaned back a little, giving Katsuki room to breathe.

" _See?_ I didn't get into this because I lacked conviction, or I wanted to stab my mentor in the back. I got into this because my mentor betrayed _me."_

Katsuki breathed in, breathed out. He could handle this, everything was fine. It really _wasn't,_ but Katsuki needed to get a grip, and lying to himself was the only way he knew _how._

For a moment Kazan just stood there, taking him in. Then he turned, and threw some words over his shoulder:

"I see this is a lot to digest in one night. So I'll give you twenty-four hours to think it over. Would you rather be a tool of the government, used to the fullest and then discarded, or are you red-pilled enough to fight back? The choice is yours. I won't be forcing you into anything."

And then Kazan jumped off the building.

Alarmed, Katsuki ran over to the other side, and peered over the barrier. He saw one rapidly shrinking figure vanish into the night. Kazan hopped from floor to floor, using a natural sense of balance to swing himself from one ledge to the other. The style reminded him of Asui's frog-like moves. _Of course!_ The guy's Quirk.

Katsuki watched him till he could no longer see his shape in the dark, then he took the fire escape down. He breathed more easily when both his feet touched solid ground. He should _really_ be more careful about ending up in sticky situations with Villains. One would _think_ that after getting kidnapped by Gentle Criminal, he would be more careful about things like that. But _no._ Katsuki wiped the sweat off his brow. Maybe next time he would _at least_ tell someone where he was going... He let out a shaky breath and headed back to his dorms.

But _was_ this guy a Villain? Thoughts like these kept plaguing Katsuki's mind through the night, invading his dreams, and well into the next day: poisoning his breakfast, and turning the UA classes into a side-show to the main action within his own head.

He tried to drown out the noise with even louder music in his room that day. That worked, until it didn't. Frantic knocking on his door interrupted his chill study session. Katsuki set his notebooks down on the bed, and sauntered over to the door. As he opened it, the person knocking nearly _fell in._ It was Todoroki.

"What do you want?" said Katsuki, not even trying to mask the annoyance in his voice.

Todoroki sent him a not-amused look.

Katsuki traded him an equally unamused look.

"Can you turn it down?" Todoroki finally said, like that had been obvious.

Katsuki bristled. "And _why_ should I do that?"

Todoroki's steely-eyed expression did not change. "I'm trying to meditate. Your music is disturbing my inner peace."

Okay, excuse invalid. Katsuki blinked at the other guy. "Go meditate somewhere else," he said, shooing him with one hand.

Todoroki didn't move an inch. "I can _hear it_ in my room. My room is _directly_ above _yours."_ He stressed the words, but didn't put any emotion in them.

Freak.

"Okay, how about you go downstairs, and meditate in fucking _Deku's room!"_ That good-for-nothing was probably holed up in Aoyama's room anyway.

The Freak looked off to the side. "I do not wish to inconvenience anyone..."

"Oh but you're okay with inconveniencing _me?"_

Freak boy's eyes grew hard; something of a spark lighting up in them. "If you don't turn your shitty music down, I'm telling Mr. Aizawa."

Katsuki narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't."

" _TRY ME,"_ Todoroki spoke into his face, louder than before.

Katsuki considered him for a moment, then turned on his heel, shrugging casually as he turned the volume lower.

"Happy?" he threw over his shoulder, waiting for the Freak to finally leave.

He didn't.

"What is it _now?"_ Katsuki rolled his eyes, spinning on his heel to glare at Doki-doki.

"Ummm, we still have those extra classes later. Don't forget."

Katsuki sent him a loathsome look. "I _know,"_ he grit out, trying to convey all of his anger in that one word.

Todoroki nodded, robotically turned on his heel, and started walking down the hallway. _Fucking_ finally. Katsuki released a long breath.

He sat back on his bed, surrounded by textbooks. With the music so low, his thoughts drifted back to Kazan. _Dammit._ Even when he _wasn't_ falling for him, he _couldn't_ get the guy out of his head.

What should he do? Was it really okay to keep quiet about this? Should he maybe inform All Might? After all there was no way Kazan knew who he was, (he had been wearing a mask the entire time) so there would be no repercussions for him if he snitched.

Katsuki groaned. Was that all he cared about? Keeping his own ass out of the fire?

He was not a snitch. He recalled the bitchy way Todoroki had threatened to call Aizawa on him. That wasn't Katsuki's style. No, he couldn't picture himself handing Kazan over to the authorities. That was _low,_ that was _weak._

That wasn't the Heroic thing to do.

So then what?

His phone pinged. Reluctantly, he reached for it.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Have you made your decision?

Katsuki stabbed his phone with his fingers.

 **@Pooka:** No.

 **@Pooka:** I don't know!

 **@Pooka:** I'd feel bad for snitching on you, but I can't blindly follow you either.

There was a silence, a lull in their messages, before Kazan replied.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Thank you, I wouldn't ask that of you. Just hear me out, okay? Tonight, nine, same place.

There were no more messages after that.

Katsuki sat on his bed, staring at the phone in his hands. _Tonight?_ Did the bastard _really_ think he was going to fall for that crap again? He sighed, checked the time, and put his school uniform back on. It was time for those crap classes he'd been forced to take with Todoroki. Because life was not fair.

To his greatest horror, he got _paired up with_ Todo-dodo in the practical part of the class. Today's class: Customer Service. They would be replacing regular McDonald's front counter cashiers for the afternoon. Already wearing the McDonald's uniform and standing at the front counter, Katsuki forced a smile on his lips.

Right beside him, Todo-rude-o was giving the customers creepy stares.

Katsuki nudged him with an elbow. "Would it _kill_ you _to smile?"_ he hissed through the corner of his mouth.

"I am smiling," said Doki-doki, while staring creepily at their customer.

Katsuki sighed, maintaining his fake smile as he gave the customer their burger. "I'm sorry. My coworker has resting bitch face."

The customer smiled in understanding, and left. While Todo-robo actually turned around to glare at Bakugo.

A genuine smile blossomed on Bakugo's face. Katsuki considered this a win.

Back at Heights Alliance, Katsuki paced about his bedroom. If he was doing this, if he was going through with this ill-advised meetup with Kazan, he should _at least_ tell someone where he was going. He sighed, let his muscles calm. Okay. He threw the hoodie over his shoulders, tucked the tanuki mask under his armpit, and headed downstairs.

Kirishima would ask too many questions, maybe even beg to 'come with'. And, being rejected, the guy would sulk _for days._ Complaining that he always got excluded from 'the really exciting stuff'. Moron. Katsuki's best bet was Tokoyami, so he went on down to the second floor.

Though when he reached Tokoyami's room, there was a door hanger on the knob. All it said was: **_'Revelry in the Dark'_**.

Katsuki tilted his head to the side, and stared at it. Was _that_ like... a euphemism for masturbation, _...or?_

He could picture Tokoyami doing it with Dark Shadow, he totally _could._ Did it even count as 'masturbation' if you were harboring another consciousness inside of you? Though that was beside the point. Now he didn't have anyone he _could_ tell. Katsuki spent some time just standing outside Tokoyami's door, not really knowing where to go from here.

Just that moment _Deku,_ fucking Deku, left _Aoyama's_ room: _called it!_ They'd probably been getting all nasty with each other from the minute class was out.

Katsuki glared at the smaller boy.

Deku had _the impudence_ to smile at him. "Oh hi Kacchan, what's up?"

He considered for a moment... he _could_ tell Deku. Oh _Hell,_ fuck it.

"I'm doing some stealth training tonight. Climbing up the side of the school building without setting off security cameras. If anyone asks, that's where I'll be. Just don't tell the teachers."

They weren't supposed to be climbing buildings without a teacher being present, and Katsuki didn't want to be stuck doing cleaning duty _again._

This secretive smile took over Deku's face, like he was in on some inside joke.

"Alright," the nerd said, " _I_ won't."

Then he smoothly passed around Katsuki and disappeared inside his own bedroom.

What was _his_ problem? Katsuki huffed, and jogged down the last pair of stairs, leaving the class 1-A building behind, and running out into the night. He could feel it on his skin, the night air.

Then he heard someone running close by, concealed behind shadows of trees.

Belatedly he remembered to put his mask on.

He and Kazan reached the open clearing around the UA High building at the same time. They panted, staring at each other. Katsuki spoke first.

"I've given it some thought and," he panted, twisting the fabric of his jacket sleeve, "I want to investigate these rumors."

Kazan recoiled; his entire body language suggested that he hadn't seen this coming. Then he took a bold step forward, holding out his scarred hand.

"Mind you," Katsuki warned, "this does _not_ mean I agree with what you're doing. If it turns out these rumors are fake news, then you're a criminal and I _won't_ hesitate to fight you."

With those words Katsuki took the scarred hand and gave it a forceful shake.

"Good," said Kazan, "I'm glad we could reach an understanding. I'll be breaking into the UA High record archives quite soon, and for that I could use your help."

" _What?"_

Kazan chuckled. "I've got the hacking all figured out, but I do need you to create a diversion."

All Katsuki could do was groan. " _Will_ this get me grounded?"

That just earned him another snort. Kazan shrugged. "Perhaps, but _cheer up:_ as you said it, the consequences will be less harsh for a first year."

Damn him!

~ ~ ~

Tenko heard back from the toxic waste disposal facility. They wanted him, and he could start job training the next day. Which was good, because that meant he could pay his rent. But it also meant he'd have less time for his side project: investigating the Quirk Removal rumors. For this to work he'd have to rely more heavily on the League. Meanwhile his inside-man on UA High territory was already setting their plan to motion.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** I have the records. You won't believe this. (See ZIP file.)

Tenko smiled, saving the file to his hard disk.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Excellent work, @Lord Eruption Massacre. You _should_ get paid for this.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** _Oh please._ That would be illegal.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** You never fail to amuse.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Are you typing with one hand down your pants?

Tenko drew back from the screen in horror.

**@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** _STOP._ It was funny the first few times you mock-flirted with me. _I'M NOT INTO KIDS???????bcvsdeyjr_ gjjrjfktjhfd!!!!!!!!!!

@Lord Eruption Massacre responded _fast._ Tenko didn't want to read the message. He cleaned up his desk, put away his game controller, looked through his closet and picked the oldest set of clothes he owned ~ to wear to work tomorrow. He made himself a cup of hot chocolate, grabbed a pack of cereal and ate directly from the box, lounging in the windowsill.

 _Then_ he read the message. And he wished he _hadn't._

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** I wasn't mocking you. And I'm not a kid. I like you, @Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life . And not just as a friend.

Tenko shook his head, typing out a new message on his phone.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** I'm too old for you. And too much of a failure. You deserve better. Go find a young up-and-coming Pro Hero to crush on. Weren't you already dating someone? What happened to that?

The response came sooner than he'd expected. He didn't even know how the guy could type so fast. How could _anyone_ type _this fast?_

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** _How_ are You _"too old"?_ You were a UA High student _last year._ And yes, I'm in a relationship, ¯\\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯ an Open Relationship. Anything can happen; keep your options open.

Tenko groaned, lifting his gaze to the ceiling.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Yeah well, _I_ don't like you THAT way!

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖) Liar.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** <___< NO means NO !!

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Sweet dreams, I'll be thinking of you honey.

Tenko just closed the messaging app, refusing to grace _that_ with a response. He spent the rest of the evening studying the ZIP file @Lord Eruption Massacre had sent him. He didn't get through all of it in one sitting, and decided to leave the rest for later; he had an early day tomorrow.

The job actually wasn't all that bad. He had a decent supervisor, who showed him the ins and outs of the facility, and even let him decay some stuff on his very first day. He felt like he had finally found his calling, after years and years of searching. There was a job he was built to do. Tenko had a good feeling about this.

His good mood didn't last.

On the subway ride home he checked Twitter. Big mistake.

Dr. Schnabel had messaged back.

Tenko made a face. He read the message, then shut his phone. Dr. Schnabel had picked a spot for their rendezvous. And it _wasn't_ what Tenko had in mind when he'd offered to meet the guy, but did fit all the criteria.

At home Tenko studied the ZIP file more closely.

Once the new law fully came into effect, the current Class 1 would be the graduating Class 3. Under the new legislation, only the top _two_ students of each Hero Course would take the Hero Licensing Exam. The students who currently held those positions were Momo Yaoyorozu and Tenya Iida from Class 1-A, and Juzo Honenuki and Yui Kodai from Class 1-B.

Tenko looked up the current rank of his spy: ...fourth place, not bad. The guy had potential.

More interesting part of the ZIP file was the document on a chemical production plant. Apparently a lot of UA third years did their hero work-studies there. Though Tenko was not quite sure why. It was listed as an ordinary pharmaceutical manufacturer in the yellow pages. He scrolled down to @Lord Eruption Massacre's notes on the subject.

Tenko's frown deepened. If his spy was to be believed, this unassuming production plant was monumental to the government's planned mass production of Quirk Destroying drugs. Tenko reeled back, gaping at his screen. This was big. This was fucking HUGE. Well shit.

He sent off a quick text to Himiko, requesting her to investigate this facility more closely. Girl was resourceful; she could seduce a factory worker (male or female, to Toga it didn't matter), steal a sample of their blood, walk around in their shoes for a day, scope out the place. Her college classes would have to wait. Tenko was sure Himiko could skip a day or two. This was more important.

The rest of his week was a blur. Saturday rolled around sooner than he'd hoped, and Tenko found himself kicking stones on the curb, dressed in light-blue bermuda shorts and a long sleeved dark grey henley shirt. For safety reasons he wore artist gloves, which looked like a fashionable extension of his shirt sleeves. And naturally grandma Nana was here with him: left hand resting on his forehead, his Conscience. It was a warm day, the sun beaming down on him, as he waited in the half shadow offered by an old leafy tree.

 **@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** Meet me at the dango stand of Tokyo Dome City Attractions, one o'clock, Saturday. I'll be wearing a white tie. It's a date.

He growled at his phone. _Tie Guy,_ huh? If you need _that large_ of an _arrow_ to point out where your dick's supposed to be, ...you _probably_ don't have one.

Tenko wasn't much of a fan of _dango_ either. That shit was sickeningly _sweet._ His foster father _loved_ dango. Practically had it _every_ evening for dessert. Tenko had had his fill of dango, to the point where he was absolutely certain he'd eaten enough dango to last him a lifetime without these sugary dumplings. The first thing he'd done after moving out was cross 'dango' from his life for good. And now it was back to _haunt_ him, in the unsavory form of Dr. Schnabel.

From his spot under the tree, Tenko could clearly see the dango stand. No one matching Dr. Schnabel's vague description had shown up.

It was _then_ that he heard a twig snap somewhere behind him. Tenko played it cool. His reflexes were trained through all those years at UA, when he'd been striving to become a Pro Hero. But this wasn't a time to show off. The less Dr. Schnabel knew about him, the better. It would only come to his advantage later if he kept a trick or two up his sleeve. So he played along for now, acting oblivious to the foreign presence behind him.

"You hungry _Neko-chan?"_

It was spoken in a silky voice, gentle but deep, a voice Tenko hadn't associated with Dr. Schnabel _before._ Now that he heard it, the voice felt _right,_ fitting.

Tenko casually turned around, pasting an expression of utter boredom on his face. "Not particularly. I've had lunch," he started to say, mid-turn.

The guy he met was roughly his own height, wore obnoxious black bondage pants (like he was _trying_ to advertise his fetish to absolutely _everyone_ within a three mile radius), a plain black T-shirt, and a white _clip-on tie._ A fucking _clip-on._ Those were even _more_ distasteful than the actual neckties.

But what was even _more_ disturbing were the white latex _gloves_ he wore, and the _surgical mask_ covering the entire lower half of his face.

Tenko took a hurried step back, putting some space between them. "What's this? Are you _ill?"_

The good doctor responded with: "Why yes, I have a Quirk. So I am diseased."

Tenko gave him a glare. "Quirks _aren't_ contagious, Genius. You _can't_ spread it. So it's _pointless_ to wear a face mask."

Only the man's eyebrows went up. And he spoke in a confident, pleased tone: "I am flattered you recognize my _genius."_

Tenko wanted to dust him right then and there.

He held back. They walked over to the dango stand, and before Tenko could refuse, Dr. Schnabel had placed two orders. _Great._

They found a spot nearby the LaQua Water Symphony fountain, and Tenko mostly stared at the paper plate on his lap. While Dr. Schnabel ate. (He did not remove his face mask to eat... he simply kept shoveling dango skewers underneath his mask! Tenko wished to _die_ of embarassment!)

Having eaten, Dr. Schnabel looked over at him, noting the paper plate still on his lap.

"You don't like dango?" the man correctly guessed.

Tenko glared at him. "You didn't ask."

Dr. Schnabel shrugged. "I thought everyone liked dango."

"You thought _wrong."_

"Umm... I don't even know your name," Dr. Schnabel scratched under his own chin, "now that I think about it."

Narrowing his eyes, Tenko squared his shoulders and looked away. "Tell me yours first," he said. What the _Hell_ was he supposed to do with these dango skewers _now?_ It would be bloody _rude_ to just toss them.

"Kai Chisaki, spelled 治崎 廻 , nice to finally meet you in person. You look familiar. Like I get the feeling I've seen you before, somewhere..."

Tenko snorted. "I get that a lot."

" _Well?"_ Kai's voice sounded a little demanding.

Tenko looked over at him. "Well _what?"_

"I told you _my name."_

Oh. Fuck, screw this. Tenko grit his teeth. " _Yes,_ I _am_ that kid that _putrefied_ his whole family by accident when he was _four years old._ I'm fucking _infamous._ I know, the world knows, _your mom_ probably knows as well."

Shit. He'd said that a lot louder than he'd intended to, had he? People seated around them were _watching._

Kai placed a gloved hand on his shoulder. Tenko looked up uncertainly.

"You're Pro Hero Nana Shimura's grandson? I think I saw you on TV."

Tenko winced. Yes, the funeral _had been_ televised. That kind of shit _happened_ when you had _famous_ Nana Shimura for a grandmother. All Might had been there, _and Mr. Aizawa,_ and pretty much _everyone_ who was _any_ one on the Pro Hero scene... The media was _outraged_ over the fact Tenko had been allowed to keep a part of his grandmother (her left hand). They kept _talking_ about this _for months._ Must've been a slow news year, or something. Meanwhile Tenko still had a middle school to go to (his foster father, Master Otosaka, _insisted_ that no matter what, kids should _not_ be homeschooled). So Tenko still had classmates to face, still had to take the bloody _entrance exam_ to UA High, with _all this_ hanging over his head.

There was a time when he'd asked himself if all of this was worth it. If he even wanted to be a Pro Hero, when _this_ was all the thanks he would ever get. He _had_ made a mistake, and he _hated_ himself for it. Lives had been lost. There was no way of bringing any of them back: his mother, his father, his _sister..._ But that was _even more reason_ for Tenko _to save lives,_ to make up for the harm he'd caused.

But _how_ could he _do that,_ when the media would never let him forget all the _bad things_ he'd done? _Who_ would even _sponsor him_ if he went Pro Hero? When _everyone and their mom_ kept on dragging him for his past mistakes. His public image was _fucked._

There was no way around it. This was the reality he lived in. So he rolled with it. In high school he tried to play it up, to _be_ that misfit teen everyone wanted him to be, the Edge Lord, the _freak,_ the Hero of rebellious teens around the world, (and he got a lot of endorsements with _that shtick,_ the edgy teen girls _loved him!_ _fanfictions_ got written about him... usually of him _raping someone,_ instead of saving them... but that was okay... the money kept streaming in..). So he _tried_ his damn _hardest_ to _be_ the 'Hand Man'. _Ugh_ , his Hero Name had been _so_ lame.

Maybe it was a _good thing_ Tenko's Pro Hero career never came to _be..._ maybe. Tenko shrugged, taking a bite of the dango. _Oh,_ it wasn't _that_ sweet... Tenko greedily took another bite.

"Your performance at the UA sports festival last year was pretty impressive. Weren't you the one that got second place?"

Tenko stilled. _What?_

"I remember now," Kai continued. "What I liked most was your light-footed fighting style, and the strategic thinking in how you drove your opponents out of the ring."

For a moment all Tenko could do was blink at Kai stupidly.

"You used their Quirks against them," Kai said in an amused tone. "I'd never seen _that_ done before: a UA student getting through the Third Round of the Sports Festival _without_ the use of their Quirk."

Tenko felt his cheeks heat up. He shrugged, biting off another bit of dango from the skewer.

"It wasn't _that hard._ I knew most of them, from having gone to school with them _for three years._ All I did was pay attention to their Quirk limits and develop counter strategies."

He twirled the empty skewer around, holding it with three fingers. Then used his other hand to pull the artist glove off, and touched the disposable bamboo skewer with all five of his fingers. The thing disintegrated upon impact.

"My quirk is not exactly suitable for Sport Fighting Competitions. And because I was enrolled in the Hero Course, I wasn't allowed to bring any support items, which could have let me use my Quirk."

Tenko put his glove back on.

"Still," Kai said, reaching for Tenko's empty paper plate, and tossing it in the trash. "I was impressed. You were such a badass, schooling them all, without relying on your Quirk."

Okay, _now_ Tenko's face was definitely _aflame._ With Kai's gloved hand brushing his thigh as he picked the paper plate from Tenko's lap. And Kai leaned _in,_ and _Oh!_ Tenko smelled the waft of Kai's perfume as the man got closer _yet,_ slinging an arm over the back of the bench they both sat on.

"Which Hero Agency are you working for now?"

 _Oh._ Well fuck. Tenko slumped in on himself. He was such a _loser._ He was _never_ going to find a boyfriend. _All_ his first dates literally boiled down to _this._

> Do you have a job?  
> Yes.  
> Is it a respectable job?  
> Well... your mileage may vary, but I am an essential worker.  
> I think I'll pass.  
> Oh. Uhh umm, we can still be friends, right... _call me?_  
> Sure.

And then they _never_ call.

With a total lack of confidence Tenko peeked up at Kai. The man was still waiting for an answer. Tenko sighed.

"I'm not working for a Hero Agency."

Kai looked a bit puzzled, but didn't pull away. His shoulder still comfortably pressed into Tenko's shoulder.

"So, what do you do?"

You know _what,_ screw it! If Kai would drop him over something as petty as _that,_ then so be it. What did it _matter_ that Kai had soft-looking violet-brown hair? What did it _matter_ that Kai had _to-die-for_ tsurime eyes, framed with _the longest eyelashes_ Tenko had _ever_ seen on a man. The guy was _still_ that annoying _troll_ '''Doctor Schnabel from Rome''', and Tenko didn't know _a thing_ about him. _Who_ was _he_ to judge Tenko's life choices?

Kai batted his long eyelashes and waited patiently for Tenko's answer.

Tenko fixed him with a deadpan stare. "I'm a garbage man."

After a second or two passed in complete and utter silence, Kai's eyes went so wide they became almond-shaped. "Seriously?"

Tenko set his teeth. " _Someone's_ gotta do it. Don't look down on my profession!"

Kai leaned away, raising his hands in front of his chest. "I wasn't."

Maintaining eye contact, Tenko casually crossed his legs. Left ankle resting on his knee, as he splayed his arms out. Like he didn't give a shit. _He didn't._ Fuck Doctor Schnabel, _not_ literally. "And what do _you_ do for a living?"

"I'm a microbiologist."

Tenko blinked. Raspy laughter tore from his chest. He threw his head back, and gave way to this hilarious feeling.

Doctor Schnabel looked quite ill at ease with Tenko's wild laughter.

"What's so funny?" the man said, patting his bondage pants down.

Tenko gazed upon Kai from under his bangs. "Fancy that, a microbiologist and a trash man strolling through Tokyo Dome City _together."_

Kai folded his arms over his chest. "I don't see what's funny about that."

"It's just a pair you don't usually see," Tenko shrugged, then pointed at the Thunder Dolphin roller coaster, "why don't we go _there_ next?"

Kai sulkily narrowed his eyes at him. " _Right after_ having lunch? No thank you."

Tenko grinned. "What, you scared of heights or something?"

"I don't have a fetish for vomiting."

"Eww," Tenko wrinkled his nose. "Did you _have to_ put _that image_ into my head?"

"Besides, if it's heights you want to see," Doctor Schnabel gestured at the centerless ferris wheel, "we _could_ ride that."

Tenko rolled his eyes, and stood. "Okay Grandpa." Slowly he started walking toward the Big O.

Doctor Schnabel hopped off the bench and chased after him.

When they were finally walking in step, Kai threw him an irritable look. "I'm _twenty-three_ years old, thank you very much."

Tenko eyed him from the corner of his vision. "You _look it."_

He giggled when Kai roughly elbowed him in the side. "Wahaha, _stop!"_

Kai only narrowed his eyes to slits and trudged on toward the Big O, completely ignoring Tenko.

The line to the ferris wheel was _long._ Unsurprising, for such a pleasant day. At some point Kai finally ditched the gloves and rested his hands on the railing that separated the queue area. Tenko couldn't blame him; he himself was getting tired of standing on his feet. He rested his hip against the railing and performed an elaborate study of Doctor Schnabel's hands.

Long, elegantly thin fingers. A relatively large hand palm, that looked like it could pack quite a punch. The doctor's hands were dry, slightly covered in the powder from his latex gloves. Short fingernails, Tenko smirked. _That_ was good to know.

Though both of his hands were covered in tiny red blotches. Tenko winced in sympathy. He himself had had a bad case of eczema and dandruff ever since his Quirk activated. No matter what skin care products he used, it never really seemed to go away. So seeing Kai's hands covered in a rash like that, did not repulse him, but rather made him feel somehow _closer_ to the guy.

They went on the ride, got a cabin all to themselves. Tenko finally sat down, relaxing his tired legs; Kai positioned himself right next to him. Their sides pressed into each other. And the cabin tipped to one side, having most of its weight distributed unevenly.

Kai kept his pretty hands in his lap for most of the way up. Tenko couldn't help stealing glances. The view around them wasn't half as interesting as the man he was with.

" _So,"_ Tenko said when their cabin had nearly reached the Big O's apex, "what does your Quirk do?"

"Funny you should ask that. I was just about to show you."

There was something ominous in the way Kai said that, but Tenko failed to pinpoint _what._ Then suddenly their cabin stopped moving.

Tenko blinked, looked about him. He pressed his face to the window, looking this way and that. It seemed the entire ferris wheel had become immobile. Tenko frowned.

An operator's voice came through the intercom. They had technical issues, which would be resolved soon, nothing to worry about.

Oh. Tenko relaxed a little, slumping into the bench, into Kai.

...Kai, who had been oddly calm through it all. Whose body didn't move an inch, whose breathing hadn't hitched when the ferris wheel _stopped._ Almost like he'd _expected it._

Suspicion nagging at him, Tenko let his head drop on Kai's shoulder, and stared up into the man's eyes. Cold-blooded calculation stared right back at him. Tenko's heart lurched out of his chest, and took to beating a mile a minute. Just _who_ the fuck _was this guy?_

"They won't be resolving this _'technical issue'_ anytime soon," Kai spoke in his confident bass.

Tenko _stared._

Kai seemed to take his silence as a sign to continue. He casually stretched his right arm to rest on the back of the bench, before pulling his right hand back, and effectively _hugging Tenko to his side._

It would have been romantic if not for the creepy undertone Tenko got from Kai.

The doctor raised his right hand, palm up, bringing it awfully close to Tenko's face. _Where_ was this _going... ?_

"This hand reassembles," Kai whispered into his left ear.

Then he brought his left hand close, let it hover over Tenko's chest, almost touching the spot where Tenko's heart was beating against his ribcage.

"And _this hand_ disassembles."

Kai placed his left hand on Tenko's heart.

Almost instantaneously Tenko found himself _shirtless,_ with Kai's hand flat on his _bare chest._ He jerked in Kai's hold. The man shushed him, fluttering his impossibly long eyelashes over Tenko's left cheek.

"It's okay, I know what I'm doing." Kai removed his left hand, and set his right hand on Tenko's bare shoulder.

Moments after, Tenko was wearing a skintight high collared ruffle shirt. A layer of clothing that _hadn't been there before_ had come between _him_ and _Doctor Schnabel's right hand._

He sat there panting, staring in disbelief at the new material covering his chest. The pretty dark grey ruffles fluttered with the rise and fall of his chest.

"I could easily rearrange all the particles of your body."

Tenko shivered. Kai pulled his face mask down, to reveal a handsome face. Clean-shaven, thin lips, Greek nose, heart shaped jawline. Only a small portion of his chin was covered in the same unfortunate red hives Tenko had seen on his hands. Mostly the left side of his chin.

"If I wanted to."

Kai trailed a lone finger up Tenko's neck, stopping at his chin.

"I would _n't_ do _that_ though. Because you're already perfect the way you are."

It was said against his lips. And then Kai was kissing him. Slowly, passionately. Tenko melted into the other man, let himself be molded into the shape Kai wanted him.

His hands fell helplessly to his sides, frustrated, but scared to touch. He still wore his artist gloves, so stroking Kai should be fine, and yet... Tenko spread his legs, letting his left leg slide under Kai's legs, and swung his right leg over Kai's lap. He kissed back, with everything he had, curling his feet around Kai's legs to give him some leverage.

Something hard dug into Tenko's inner thigh. He breathed against Kai's lips, hungry for _more._ More of whatever the hell _this_ was.

Kai stopped him with a peck on the nose. "First date hook-ups aren't my style."

 _What?_ The guy was going to get him all hot and bothered, and _then_ hold out on him? Oh _Hell NO!_

Tenko grabbed him roughly by his stupid fucking clip-on tie, pulling Kai's face close. He breathed on his lips, not quite bringing their mouths together just yet.

"What makes you think," Tenko rasped, "that I feel like shagging you."

Kai trailed a hand up his side, making the new shirt tickle against his skin.

Without warning Tenko plunged his tongue inside Kai's waiting half open mouth. He pushed at Kai's tongue, trying to overpower him, to show him who's boss. Though it felt more like Kai was _letting him win,_ letting Tenko have his way with him, like he was _allowing it,_ for now. And any moment Kai could decide to take back control, and the tables would be turned.

Tenko panted, collapsing into Kai, resting his forehead on the man's heaving chest. The back of Nana Shimura's left hand pressed into Kai's sturdy pecs.

"What are you even trying _to prove?"_ Tenko demanded, having difficulty speaking. "Trolling the internet with this random _'Quirks are a disease'_ shtick?" he huffed. "Think you're a One-Man Comedy Act?"

"Maybe I just like to troll," said Kai. "It's honestly not _that_ deep. Just like your Twitter group: a form of roleplaying you do to unwind."

Tenko frowned. Slowly, he crawled off Kai's lap, but kept holding onto his tie.

"Yeah well, your _jokes_ would be funny if the situation wasn't as serious."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me you _unironically_ created an edgy Twitter group?"

 _Okay,_ when Kai said it _that way,_ Tenko sounded stupid. He felt his cheeks flare up in embarrassment.

"What else was I _supposed to do?_ Something had to be done about it."

Kai shrugged one shoulder. "I don't make a habit of tracking down _every_ rumor on the internet. Bunch of crazy people shitposting all over the place. Like... social media is about _the least_ reliable source of information online."

Tenko pouted. "I _didn't_ come across this rumor _on social media._ _I_ was the one who _brought it to social media."_

Kai looked at him with interest. "Oh. _Where_ did you first hear about it, then?"

"I _used to be_ a Pro Hero in training, _remember?"_ Tenko looked out the window, down at the city, at the outlines of buildings that reflected the sunlight, a perfect mirror. He looked down at the floor of the cabin, at their legs which were still intertwined. He sighed. "I _overheard_ Pro Heroes _talking, okay?"_

"R-really?" Kai's voice sounded shocked, like his breath caught in his throat.

" _Yes!"_ Tenko glared at the floor, tightening his grip on the tie, and bunching the end of it to a ball. "I'm not just trying to be _edgy,_ I'm _saving lives._ A lot of people would end up losing _everything_ if their Quirks were taken away. I _can't let that happen."_

Kai let out a long breath. "Okay, let's say I believe you. _Then what?_ What are you going to _do about it?"_

Tenko met his eyes. They were _still_ calculating and cold. Tenko squinted up at Kai, and allowed a cheeky smirk to play on his lips.

"I'm going to find who's responsible, and teach them a lesson they'll _never_ forget."

Kai snorted. "That _doesn't sound_ very _Heroic_ of you."

"Yeah well," Tenko shrugged. "I'm _done_ playing the Hero."

He pulled the artist glove off his right hand, and wrapped it tightly around Kai's clip-on tie. The filthy white thing crumpled to dust in his hand.

Kai squawked, reeling back in horror.

"Oops," Tenko said, _big grin_ on his face, not in the slightest bit sorry. "I'm not big on ties."

Even back when he still went to UA, he never wore one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter: i reveal who the guy in the Kappa mask is. Although it should be obvious by now. **hint hint** (obvious to _everyone **but**_ Bakugo! :D )
> 
> [[[im spelling Bakugou as "Bakugo" intentionally, because in my dialect the letter combo "ou" is pronounced as "u". and i just _cant_ get used to calling him "Baku _gu"_ in my head. sorry XD. ....for the same reason, Shouto will probably be spelled as "Shoto" once Dokidoki's name shows up. and i'll probably spell Aizawa's name as "Shota" XD regardless of the connotations of 'shota' LOL i dont know yet. XD]]]
> 
> also... was it obvious enough that Kai/Overhaul messed with the ferris wheel? (on purpose) XD LOL. causing it to stop mid-ride? (i just want to make that clear, in case that wasn't obvious ^^; *sweatdrops* im sorry if im over-explaining the scene..)
> 
> Don't listen to Katsuki ~ UwU ~ that nightcore song is beautiful!
> 
> Katsuki just doesn't know what good music is.
> 
> And Tenko just doesn't get the Tie aesthetic. fuck that guy. (not literally ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )
> 
> ((to be honest when drafting the story, that bit about ties came up and i thought it would fit Shigaraki to a T. .......and _then_ i remembered that im writing an AU where Shigaraki was a UA High student.... _and_ the UA boys uniform contains a tie.
> 
> so at first i was like: _YEAH HE HATES TIES BECAUSE THEY REMIND HIM OF **UA HIGH...**_ but _then_ i remembered that i had already written Tenko's backstory in a way that made it seem like his life went downhill _after_ he dropped out of UA. which would mean: he _loved_ his time at UA High. ......so that hating ties because of school didn't make sense either.
> 
> ....and _then_ this visual image of Shigaraki wearing a UA High school uniform **_with a Bow Tie / ribbon_** entered my head. and i just HAD TO _draw that!_ XD this is why it took me so long to update the chapter. // cleaning lineart takes so damn long! // still totally worth it though ;-))
> 
> so that drawing of Shigaraki in a UA High uniform was born entirely out of me grasping at straws to justify Tenko's irrational hatred of neckties. (and //okay// i like drawing men in women's clothes...)
> 
> Also i figured it would be a chore to tie shoelaces for someone with Shigaraki's Quirk ~ so it makes less sense for Shigaraki to wear something like sneakers or dress shoes that have laces. ~ so he _could have_ worn step-in shoes, or loafers... and then i was like: _Hell yeah!_ let's put womens shoes on Tenko's feet :D . . . XD that's why Shigaraki is wearing womens mocassin loafers/ballet flats. (they're easy to slip on and out of...you dont even need a shoehorn to put them on. and you can wear them without socks. i figured Tenko would have a hard time putting on socks as well...)
> 
> for the same reason, all the buttons on his shirt and jacket are snap buttons. (those are _a lot_ easier to button!)


	3. The Plot Thickens

Creating a diversion for Kazan to safely break into the UA High archives would be a piece of cake. Bakugo didn't even worry about having his own identity exposed to Kazan, because  
**A)** the guy would be too preoccupied with hacking the school's mainframe to notice, and  
**B)** the teaching staff would _want_ to keep "this little incident" under wraps, exposing as little as they could to the student body, (to avoid anything leaking to the press).

So. All he needed was _someone_ to brawl with. Someone whose buttons he could get away with pushing, and someone with a Quirk powerful enough to _really_ cause a scene. Katsuki grinned. He was loving his own half-baked plan already, even though it would get him in trouble. Big time.

When it came to picking someone to provoke, Todoroki seemed the most obvious choice. It didn't take much, really. One single

"I like Endeavor. The man has an impressive Quirk, he's the Number Two Hero in the country, and must be a good Dad. After all, he did raise _four kids_ all on his own, _while_ pursuing an ambitious Pro Hero career. That takes some discipline. I can respect him for that,"

from Katsuki in the hallway between class was enough to ignite the hellfire lying dormant within frigid Todo-robo.

" _What?"_ Todoroki spat, rounding on Katsuki. His left side flared up, tiny little flames sparking to life in the air above his school uniform. There was fire in his eyes. " _You_ suddenly _a fanboy?_ Been hanging with Yoarashi lately? Is _that_ it?"

Katsuki smirked. He was _in._

"Hah? I'm giving you a damn _compliment._ You got a _Cool_ Dad, unlike mine."

He punctuated this sentence with an easy shrug, then patted Doki-doki on the shoulder.

Todoroki hissed like a feral cat and shoved him off.

Katsuki drew back in mock-horror. " _Chill,_ dude, I'm trying to be your friend. Who knew saying something _nice_ about your Dad would set you off like this?"

And Todoroki _lost it._

"My father is an _asshole._ But I'd rather _not_ talk about this _at school._ Are you autistic or something? How are you _this bad_ at reading social cues?"

Ice shards scattered through the hallway, making most of their schoolmates run away in fear (or to call a teacher, Katsuki couldn't tell which). He stood his ground though, keeping his hands in his pockets to build up more sweat. A glacier trail slithered all the way from where Todoroki's feet touched the floor, to the wall closest to Bakugo's head.

"Oh," said Bakugo lightly. "You had no trouble talking about it _before."_

At Todoroki's dumbfounded expression, Katsuki elaborated:

"I overheard. When you info-dumped on Midoriya about your entire backstory," Katsuki smiled innocently. "But what I don't get, is _why_ you hate _your Dad,_ when it was your _wacko Mom_ that poured boiling hot water all over your cute face?"

A beat passed in tense silence. Todoroki looked frozen in place, like someone had doused him with a bucket of ice cold water. Katsuki bit his lip. He probably shouldn't have said _that._

Scratch that, he _shouldn't have_ said it, period. But he'd said it. And there was no taking it back now. The toothpaste was out the tube, and Todo-dildo was coming at him with a whirl of ice and flames.

Katsuki dodged the attack, although the shoulder-pad of his school blazer got singed in the process. He grunted, kneeling on the floor. Felt the sweat trickle down his arms, pour into his fists. Katsuki grinned, looking up at a decidedly _pissed_ Todo-ding-dong.

He pushed off the floor and fired a series of explosions at the guy.

The smarty pants threw up an ice wall between them, both blocking Katsuki's attack, and blocking himself from view. _Dammit._ Katsuki cursed under his breath. He kicked at the ice, setting off another explosion with his bare hands.

 _Boom!_ Ice chunks clattered down from the ceiling.

Katsuki let the smaller bits rain down on him, as he stood tall, staring Tofu-shogi in the face.

"Damn boy, you're violent." Katsuki said. "All I did was ask you a question, and you come flying at me with your fists." He shook his head in disbelief. "You even forced me to use my Quirk in self defense."

Katsuki smiled; he had made _absolutely sure_ Todoroki was the one who _threw the first punch._ To any teacher it would seem like Todoroki was the one _harassing him!_ Perfect.

For good measure he added: "Please don't tell me you're as mentally unstable as your Mom. I wouldn't feel _safe_ living in the same dorm with you."

That did it. The one remark that turned their roughhousing into a full-blown battle royale.

Burst after burst of fire came Katsuki's way. He leapt and dodged, working up quite a sweat, as Todoroki's attack forced him to basically climb the walls. He gasped for air. In such close quarters as the UA school hallway, firing off an explosion _while Todoroki's flames were raging all over the place_ would be both stupid and suicidal.

And Katsuki was neither stupid nor prone to suicide. So he tried his hardest not to set off any wild explosions for the time being. His back and arms were drenched in sweat. This was getting harder by the minute.

Suddenly Todoroki was right in front of him, appearing out of the smoke, face twisted with rage. And all Katsuki could do was let out a choked wheeze as Todoroki's right hand clamped over his throat, and he was pummeled to the floor. Head hitting the tiles _hard._ Katsuki sobbed. _Damn that hurt._

Todoroki was on top of him, and kept hitting his stomach repeatedly. The floor was ice cold. Pockets of fire flickered in the corners of Katsuki's vision. He felt himself slowly slipping away into a rich dark carmine.

Was this what death felt like? To be so utterly humiliated on all levels at once, you had no hope of ever making a comeback... Katsuki greedily gulped in air, fighting against the hand on his throat.

"You piece of shit," the other boy spoke close to his ear, "you absolute vile piece of garbage. Thought you could bully me the way you bullied Midoriya? Yeah? Well _I'm stronger!"_

He felt a frosty hand tug at his hair, nearly pulling out the roots. A high pitched whine escaped his lips, and he clamped his mouth shut. But that didn't stop the tears that pooled in the corners of his eyes, further blurring his vision.

Todoroki aimed a final blow at the top of his head.

A searing pain spread from his forehead to his nose. Something hot and wet spilled over his lips. Katsuki tasted blood on his tongue.

He vaguely registered someone pulling Todoroki off him, someone kneeling beside him and fussing over his wounds. And then the world went dark.

~ ~ ~

Katsuki woke up in a hospital bed at the Nurse's Office, feeling mildly disoriented. The overhead lights were too bright. He squinted, and tried to sit up. The first thing that seemed wildly out of place was Deku, seated in a chair by the window, laptop folded open on his knees. Katsuki did a double take.

"The fuck _you_ doing here?"

It was out of his mouth before he could think better of it.

The other boy's fingers stopped scuttling over the keyboard. He lifted his head and made eye contact. Everything about him said he meant _business._ Katsuki frowned in confusion, not quite sure what this was supposed to mean...

Deku cleared his throat. Then he spoke in a voice Katsuki had _never_ heard him talk before... it sounded _a lot_ like a cheap impression of All Might, and it _was_ **the exact same voice** the guy in the kappa mask had used.

Katsuki _stared. What the Hell. **Kazan** was Deku?!_

"Mirio Togata's _'accident'_ was no accident," said ~~Kazan~~ , no, _Deku!_ "I have his school record. There's tons of creepy notes all over it, like someone high up took an active interest in him, singled him out. He was part of the experiment."

Katsuki blinked at him, shook himself. "What experiment?" he said, tilting his head to one side.

"They had to test the Quirk Destruction drug," Deku deadpanned, reverting back to his normal voice. "And they tested it, _on Mirio."_

There was an edge to his tone, born from deeply ingrained anger. A hatred that found no outlet, that continued to build, to fester, rotting his soul. Katsuki's eyes went wide. This was _a whole new_ side to Deku he had never seen before, never even imagined.

He swallowed, looking off to the side. "So you found out, huh. That _I_ was the one behind _'Pooka'."_ Katsuki laughed bitterly. "Have rumors of my epic battle against Scarface traveled all over school by now? Is that how you know?"

"Oh. No," Deku said easily. "I knew all along."

Katsuki sat up straight. " _Hah?"_

The boy pointed at his own dark green mophead. "Your hair was a dead giveaway."

"Oh." Katsuki's shoulders slumped. Now he just felt dumb. _Of course!_ The tanuki mask didn't cover his hair. And _that first night,_ he _hadn't_ worn a hood. Fuck.

"Here, take a look." Deku shifted his chair closer to the bed, and turned his laptop to face Katsuki. "It's all _real._ And now we have proof. Hard evidence. The school is definitely involved somehow, and something tells me _this plant,"_ Deku jabbed the screen with his index finger, "is bad news."

Katsuki blinked as he took in all of this new information. The files on Deku's computer looked _legit._ He scrolled through several pages, skim-reading, before he spoke.

"And... what now? What's the game plan? Do we alert the authorities?"

Deku laughed darkly. "The authorities _are_ the problem."

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, then made a questioning gesture with his hands. "So? ...What are we going to _do_ about it?"

"First I'll need to gather more information," said Deku, taking his laptop back.

"Don't you _already_ have _all the information_ you'll _need?"_

Deku shook his head, not looking up from the screen. "There's some things I have to check first. And I'll need your help."

 _"Of course,"_ Bakugo rolled his eyes. He _hated_ how he was being _dragged into this,_ by _Deku,_ of all people.

He watched the nerd have at it on the PC, totally lost in his own little world. Tongue stuck out and everything... _Mumbling_ programming jargon under his breath, loud enough for Katsuki to hear, _not_ loud enough to decipher. Katsuki fell back against the pillows and groaned. This was going to be a _long ass_ afternoon.

Three _hours_ later, Deku finally looked up from his computer, to find that Katsuki _hadn't yet_ fallen asleep of boredom _._

"Oi, Shitty Nerd, what's the plan?" Katsuki practically _growled_ at him.

Deku wrinkled his nose. "Before I can draw up any solid plans of what to do with this information, I need to know if I can trust The League." Deku shut his laptop and set it on the windowsill. He stood, looming over Katsuki.

"As I've mentioned before, I am only in contact with the group's Leader. The rest are purely online friendships. I've only ever met them on Twitter. I don't know these people, Kacchan. Don't know what they look like, what their Quirks do, quite frankly I know nothing about them."

Katsuki frowned. "And _they_ don't know _you,_ either?" he guessed.

"Exactly," Deku smiled. "I need someone on the inside, a trustworthy informant on The League of Villains." Those last words were said in a low whisper.

Sensing where this conversation was going, Bakugo narrowed his eyes. "Why don't you go meet them _yourself?"_

Deku laughed good-naturedly. "Can't jeopardize the mission. What if one of The League members turned out to be a government agent? Might as well knock on All Might's door and announce my intentions. I need that extra layer of protection. That's why I'm asking you. Be my eyes, Kacchan."

Katsuki sent him a not-impressed look. "So you can paint a target _on my back?"_

Deku grinned. "What? You scared?"

"Of course _I'm **not** scared!"_ Katsuki fumed, fists clenching in the sheets. "How am I supposed to play pretend at being Lord Eruption Massacre, when _you_ manage the account, _hah?_ Dumbass, you should've really thought this through."

But the only response he got out of Deku was a high pitched giggle. "Don't worry Kacchan, I'll share the login with you. We can manage the account together."

And he did _just that,_ pulling out his phone.

Bakugo stared. This was _not_ how he'd pictured his meetup with Kazan going, _not at all._ And he didn't even want to _begin to think_ what this meant about his stupid online crush on Kazan. If useless Deku **_was_** _Kazan!_ Quite frankly, he didn't want to touch that thought with a ten foot pole.

So he didn't. He did his best to put all flirty thoughts of Kazan out of his head. This was an alliance against the government, nothing more. He and Deku weren't friends, would never be friends, not anymore (because apparently Deku turned out to be a fucking special snowflake that couldn't forgive him for _that one time_ Katsuki had told him to KYS in a moment of panic; apparently Deku didn't understand that friends - _real friends_ \- have to be _cruel to be kind_ **sometimes.** Apparently stupid useless _Deku_ didn't appreciate **_any_** of the things _he'd **done** for him_) so Deku could go to Hell, for all Katsuki cared. He _could_ work with him, if he _had to,_ but he would **_never_ **be _his friend,_ **not again.**

Katsuki promised himself that, as he listened to Deku give him the details and particulars he'd need to know if he was to successfully impersonate @Lord Eruption Massacre. Obviously, the Leader of the League would be _in on this,_ and that was okay, Deku assured him. Leader-san was someone they _could trust._

"When you meet him," Deku said with a conspiratory smile, "you'll see."

~ ~ ~

The worst thing about coming to see him was seeing Mirio's radiant smile. Izuku wanted to be _mad,_ to rage _and rage_ for hours, steam in his hatred of the _fucks_ that did _this_ to his friend. And he had _every right_ to be! Mirio had the right to get mad, to _demand_ an explanation, to _shout for a cure!_

But he _didn't._ His friend was so _awfully accepting_ of his cruel fate. He _didn't_ fight it. No, he took it in stride, acting like this was only a minor setback on his path to becoming a Hero. Like the utter injustice of having his Quirk _taken from him_ did not bother him _one bit._ Izuku twisted his lip, forcing himself to smile back (it was the least he could do).

"Hey Mirio," he gave a weak wave.

"Izuku!" the tall blond beamed at him.

"It's good to see you Togata," Yuga piped up from beside him, handing the man a bouquet of blue irises.

Mirio took the flowers in his arms and shook Yucchan's hand with enthusiasm. "Thank you Aoyama! Wow, these flowers smell great!"

Izuku smiled sideways, appreciating Yuga's attentive gesture. His boyfriend was _good_ at this stuff; he always brightened a room, wherever he went. He _sparkled._

"Come in, come in! Tamachan's already on the porch," Mirio ushered them inside with more energy than he had reason to have. "Help yourselves to any snacks, drinks, I'll go put these in some water!"

"Jeez," Izuku chuckled, watching Mirio bustle about his parents' house, "how many cans of Red Bull have you had?"

The flowers got deposited in an emptied azuki bean paste jar, now filling with water. "Haha, _too many,"_ Mirio giggled self-consciously.

Yuga blushed and raised his hands in modest protest. "Oh that's fine Togata, really, Zuzu and I already had breakfast... and I'm _kind of_ on a diet?"

Izuku nudged him in the side, then leaned in to talk into Yuga's ear (loud enough for Mirio to hear him). "Yucchan, you don't _need_ to diet." He circled one arm around his skinny waist to emphasize his point.

The way Yucchan sparkled once those words were said was _magic._ Izuku couldn't help getting lost in those eyes, and forgetting they were at Mirio's place, with Mirio standing right there. He leaned in and placed his lips over Yuga's, kneading gently.

He came to his senses pretty fast though, breaking the kiss and grinning sheepishly at Mirio. "Sorry, ..."

Mirio winked at them. "Don't be. C'mon, let's head to the porch," he said, carrying the jar in his arms, flowers tickling his neck. "Tamachan must be getting lonely."

Outside, the temperature turned several degrees colder, and _not_ because of the weather. Tamaki looked positively depressed. He exuded an air of someone whose lover had _died._ He stared dejectedly at all the food laid out on table, not taking a single bite. When he noticed them, he briefly made eye contact and said "Hi," then went back to staring at a fixed spot on the table.

Izuku pursed his lip. Shit, this must be _rough._ Tamaki and Mirio had always done things _together;_ they would have graduated UA _together_ in just a handful of months, ...if Mirio still had his Quirk. They would have been Pro Heroes _together,_ that was the plan, _before_ all of this Quirk Removal bullshit fucked it up, shredding all their dreams. Izuku couldn't blame Tamaki for feeling down; he felt the same way.

There had been a time, (back before Mirio announced his 'voluntary unenrollment' from UA), when Izuku had half the mind to just _give_ Mirio _his Quirk._ Maybe Sir Nighteye was _right,_ maybe Mirio _was meant to_ inherit All Might's power after all, take over the legacy. Izuku had been _this close_ to offering One For All up to Mirio.

But then...

...Kacchan had punched him, _hard_ in the stomach, completely winding him and sending him flying into the nearest shrub.

"Are you out of your _fucking_ mind?" Katsuki was looming over him and screaming.

Izuku had been pacing around the 3-B dorm building, feeling so _bad_ for Mirio. At some point tears prickled his eyes, and he didn't even stop them from pooling around his eyelids, from spilling down his face in wretched hot sobs, didn't even care if anyone saw. He had a right to cry! Goddamn it. Now suddenly Kacchan was here, popping out of thin air like a ghost or an invisible man. The tears ebbed away as Izuku blinked up at his childhood friend.

" _Get up,"_ Katsuki hissed. His eyes flicked to the right and to the left, as if he thought someone was watching. "I don't want to do this _here."_

Izuku gulped. What _exactly_ did Kacchan want from him? Flashbacks of the days when Katsuki used to push him around came flooding back; and Izuku _thought_ he had repressed _those_ to the farthest depths of his psyche, but _no._ Apparently his body could _not_ forget Katsuki's fists, and his shaking limbs made _that_ painfully obvious.

He scrambled up quickly, dusting off his uniform (which was covered in twigs).

"Follow _me,"_ Katsuki growled at him, before grabbing his wrist ( _without asking_ his consent) and walking off at a brisk pace.

Still on campus, two blocks further, under the cover of a large oak tree, Izuku yanked his hand loose. " ** _No!"_** he shouted.

Katsuki stopped, his shoulders jolted in surprise.

But Izuku was not done yet. "I will **_not_** let you boss me around!" He panted, a toxic potion of hatred and anger radiating off him in waves.

Kacchan tried to speak, but no words left his throat.

" _What?"_ Izuku bellowed at him. "You got something _to say?_ You can say it right here. Speak up. Clock is ticking."

Katsuki shuffled his feet. His voice was unbelievably gentle when he spoke. "Look, I _know_ what you're trying to do, okay? That Quirk you got from All Might, ...you can give it to _other people,_ right?"

All anger left Izuku's body, and he just felt empty.

A displeased rabbity pout came over Kacchan's mouth. " ** _Don't_** _do it,_ okay?"

Izuku just blinked at him.

"You _nearly **broke your hands**_ to master _that Quirk,_ and now you're just going to _give it away? **What the fuck,** _Deku."

Kacchan paced up and down the path, while ranting and stopping in his tracks every now and then to gesture wildly at Izuku. From the side it must have looked like a Soap Opera worthy argument. And well ...Kacchan had always had a flair for the dramatics. But in all honesty, Izuku had done _very little_ to provoke this, and took _no part_ in these theatrics whatsoever.

Eventually he just came out and asked: "Kacchan, why do you care?"

 _That_ put an end to the hostilities. Katsuki stood straight like a rod, momentarily silenced. Then his face contorted to a scowl and he said in a soft, _hurt_ voice: "I never stopped caring, Dumbass."

Izuku simply raised both of his eyebrows, like he found That _very hard_ to believe.

Katsuki nearly choked on his next words. "And every time you...! _Every time_ you _hurt yourself_ **your mother** falls apart."

Now _that_ was way out of line. "That's _NONE_ of _your_ business," Izuku growled at him, face drawn in hard lines. Bakugo was _not_ talking _for his Mom,_ of all people!

Just as those words left his mouth, shiny droplets appeared at the corners of Katsuki's eyes. Izuku swore he saw Kacchan's nose turn red.

" _Dammit_ Deku, what does a guy have _to do_ to get you to listen?"

Izuku raised a confused eyebrow. Katsuki was _clearly_ falling apart, though he couldn't tell _why,_ why _now,_ and _what_ any of this had to do _with him._

"I **_hate_** _this,"_ Katsuki cried. "I _hate_ your _stupid self-confidence,_ your _dumbass pigheadedness,_ or how you _refuse_ to listen to _anyone_ who _doesn't indulge_ in **_your delusions!"_**

"What are you... Kacchan what are you trying to _say?"_

Katsuki bit his lip, as though to _keep the words inside._ When he finally responded, he _still_ sounded choked up.

"Don't _you dare_ give your Quirk _to that Extra."_

Izuku _stared._ He couldn't even find it in himself to _get mad_ over Katsuki referring to Mirio as 'that Extra'... He was mostly just _awed_ by the fact Kacchan had finally acknowledged him; as an equal, a rival, ...heck, Izuku didn't even _know_ what Katsuki saw him as, but it was _definitely More than_ just another 'Extra'.

And _that_ was what made him go back on the whole _'give One For All to Mirio'_ plan, in the end. Kacchan was right: this _wouldn't_ make _anyone_ happy. The best thing he _could do for Mirio_ was find a way to restore his Quirk. Whatever it took, Izuku would find a way. He was pigheaded enough to keep drilling, keep searching till he struck gold. And in a way, he _had._ Although finding Tenko Shimura's group would have taken a lot longer if it weren't for (Izuku's older brother) Hisao. Izuku smiled at the memory.

"Thinking _Happy Thoughts? Hmmm?"_ Yuga whispered into his ear.

They were all seated around the table on Mirio's porch, having a double date brunch.

Izuku lightly poked him in the side. "It's impolite to whisper in company."

Mirio laughed. "Haha, that's okay. Tamachan and I do it all the time, don't we?"

As if to prove his point, he snaked his arm around Tamaki's waist, pulled him in close, and rested his chin on Tamaki's shoulder. They looked really comfortable like that. Tamaki didn't seem to mind one bit.

Yucchan turned bright pink. "Sorry!" he squeaked. "Just asked Zuzu what he was thinking of. He had this _really mysterious_ smile on just now."

"Oooh!!" Mirio eagerly bobbed his head up and down like a hyperactive child. "I noticed too!" Then he obnoxiously rested his head on the table and gazed up at Izuku. "So, _Izuku,_ care to tell us all what you've been thinking?"

"Eeeehhh..."

" _Right!"_ Mirio pointed an accusatory finger at him, then imitated Izuku's voice to a T. "Uuuhhhhhhh......"

Yuga howled from laughter. Izuku couldn't help cracking up either. Even Tamaki didn't seem so glum anymore. _How_ was Mirio _so good at this?_ The man was a riot! No wonder Sir Nighteye loved him for his sense of humor.

Wiping the happy tears from his eyes, Izuku finally recovered from his fifth bout of the giggles. "I was thinking... we should _really_ do this more often. I've missed you Mirio; you too, Tamaki."

" _Awwww,"_ the big blond ray of sunshine cooed at him.

The weekend was over before he knew it. Tenko called to say that his meeting with Doctor Schnabel had been an unexpected hit.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Oh? How so?

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** I think he can be a valuable addition to our Group. With time. We'd have to meet a couple more times before I can trust him.

Izuku smiled at his phone, leaning back on Yucchan's bed.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Pfffft, you just want to go on more dates with him. Tell me, is he _really_ handsome?

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Yes! Astonishingly so. Though he _hides it all away_ under this unsexy face mask. :'-(

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** _Whhaaat?_ He wore a face mask to the meeting?

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** He took it off halfway through. But, yeah.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** That's SO WEIRD.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** IKR!

Izuku giggled into his hand at the exact same moment as Yuga came out of his personal bathroom.

"What you laughing about, Mon Cheri?" he said, nestling himself beside Izuku on the bed.

"Oh, this grumpy cat meme on Twitter. Look!" Izuku showed him his phone, having already changed the tab.

He wasn't trying to be sneaky. The only reason he lied to Yucchan was to protect him, because Yucchan would be safer if he didn't know. At least, that's what Izuku told himself, to justify his own actions to himself.

~ ~ ~

"Look, I'm sorry for calling you autistic."

Katsuki gave him the silent treatment, running the vacuum cleaner over a particularly gross spot on the carpet. Had someone _jizzed here?_ The fuck _when_ could _that_ have happened? When the Common Room housed at least _five people_ at any given moment. The secret pervert would've had to sneak downstairs after bedtime to get a moment alone in here, and why the fuck couldn't he have _done it in his room_ like a normal person? _Fuck._ Katsuki was stuck doing cleaning duty _again_ and he _hated every second of it._

It didn't help that every now and then, Todoroki would come over and linger. Just stare at him with that unreadable resting bitchface, sometimes try to start up a cuntversation. Katsuki refused to acknowledge his presence, or the fact they were stuck on cleaning duty _together._ Like he hadn't been punished enough already, having the wind knocked out of him by a _hundred and thirty pounds_ of Todoboku, to the point Recovery Girl had to step in and heal his _many injuries,_ No, now he was _grounded_ **with** that ass. Locked in one house with him, and made to clean Mineta's jizz from the carpet (because let's face it, who _else_ had a bedroom _this close_ to the Common Room: both opportunity _and_ motive). Fantastic. Katsuki _loved_ his life.

"Have I hurt you?"

Katsuki nearly blew up the vacuum cleaner. _That fuck._

He whirled around and glared at Doki-doki.

The bastard blinked at him, looking genuinely puzzled.

"Listen," said Katsuki, stepping in real close to whisper at his fucked up face. "Your _overrated_ second-tier preppy-ass got-in-on-recommendations butthole could _never,_ and I repeat _never,_ not in _a billion years,_ ...hurt _me,"_ Katsuki growled. "I eat poofs like you for breakfast."

Todoroki just stared. Katsuki shoulder-checked him on his way out of the Common Room. They _could_ force him to _clean_ _with_ Todo-dildo, but they _couldn't_ force him to _stay in the same room_ with him. Fuck that. Katsuki filled a bucket with water and got a head start on mopping the boys bathroom floor.

That night he got the DM he'd been waiting for.

**@DEKU:** League is ready to meet you this weekend. Friday night, so just... tell the school you're going home for the weekend, and tell your mom you're staying over at Kirishima's on Friday, ...or something. You can crash on Leader-san's couch; it's quite comfy.

Katsuki groaned, falling back on his bed before texting back.

 **@Pooka:** couldn't you _at least_ have sent this from the Lord Erection Murder account??? Hah?!

What was the point, if they never even used it?

 **@DEKU:** We can't be using the account at the same time. Doh. That will raise too many questions! And I still need a way to contact you.

 _Why?_ Katsuki ranted at Deku in his head. _Can you **STOP** contacting me? Can you leave me alone?_ ...apparently _that_ was too much to ask. Because _Deku_ sent him _another_ text.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Here. You HAPPY?

 **@Pooka:** NOTHING would make me _happpier_ than to **neber** see your stup!d face again!

A long silence followed. Pleased with himself, Katsuki closed his eyes and was about to drift off to sleep when his phone pinged.

 **@DEKU:** Haha, never gonna happen. ( ✧≖ ͜ʖ≖)

Katsuki glowered at his phone. He had _never_ hated _an object_ so much in his life. He was _this close_ to smashing his phone against the wall. Instead, he took a series of deep breaths, counted till ten, and responded.

 **@Ground Zero:** Deku, I am _trying_ to sleep.

**@DEKU:** Try harder. LOL! ( ͡⚆ ͜ʖ ͡⚆)╭∩╮

Oh. Was _that_ how they were going to play this? _Okay,_ Katsuki could play this game. He opened a different browser, and logged into their shared account. A wicked smile crossed his lips as he started typing.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** this Active Volcano gonna burst SO HARD itll open up a portal to Hell and suck you down with it.

Ten seconds later, Deku replied. Katsuki had _no idea_ how that nerd typed _this fast,_ while still forming grammatically correct sentences without spelling errors. It was actually kind of scary.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Thought ahead and took a Red Bull. It will give me wings and I will take you to Heaven. UωU

Katsuki ignored the way his face heated up, and the giddy weightless feeling he got in his tummy. Toes curling in the blankets, he typed out a response. It _was_ kind of weird to be talking to each other _from the same account,_ but whatever. Katsuki pouted, selecting a sufficiently _angered_ emoji to express himself with. That one, _yes,_ and the middle finger.

**@Lord Eruption Massacre:** NOBODY is ""taking"" me anywhere!! 凸(>皿<)凸

To which Deku responded, _of course,_ with:

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** I know. It's so sad. Kacchan, you deserve to be taken out to dinner. Want me to ask out Kirishima for you?

A red hot rage built in his chest. For a moment he saw black.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Kirishima is a Bro! I don't fuck my bros! _Fuck_ off ┌П┐ (►˛◄’!)

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** _Oh, good to know._ (˵ ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°˵)ﾉ

Why was.... _why_ was _Deku_ sending blushy emojis???????

The answer to _that question_ came sooner than expected when Deku sent yet _another_ message. An answer Katsuki was not even remotely ready to hear.

 **@Lord Eruption Massacre:** Hey Kacchan if you're ever looking for someone to _have a good time_ with, **👉👈** I'm your man.

.

..

...

Time stopped.

Katsuki lay wide awake, staring at the message on his phone. Had they... had they been leading up to _this?_ Hastily he scrolled back up through their entire conversation, also going over the things they'd said to each other in the other browser.

He bit his lip. He knew _this was_ Deku, _unreliable,_ stupid, useless _wooden doll._ But the chemistry was _still there._ Messaging with the guy now, was _the exact same_ as it had been back when _'Kazan'_ was a mysterious second-year, a total enigma for Katsuki to puzzle out. It was no different. Kazan was still Kazan, still that same awesome chill dude Katsuki had fallen for all those weeks ago.

And now...

...Kazan was _flirting back_

and Bakugo _liked it._ (even if it was Deku. The vibe, _everything_ was still _the same!_ )

...

..

.

So, with a rapidly reddening face, he consciously _flirted back._

 **@Ground Zero:** @DEKU imma give yur 4$$ such a whooping, it will nevah forget this fist.

Though at first, Deku _didn't get_ the message...

 **@DEKU:** Kacchan! (⋟﹏⋞) Why'd you have to be _so mean?_ ༼ ☯﹏☯༽ 

Katsuki groaned into his pillow. (At some point he had rolled over on his stomach; this was more comfy, fuck off.) _Ugh._ Did he need to _spell it out_ for Deku??

 **@Ground Zero:** ◔_◔ when i said 'whoop ur ass' i meant fisting...................................................................................................................

 **@DEKU:** Oh wow.

Yes! Wow, indeed.

 **@DEKU:** I misread that.

 _Yes,_ you _did._

 **@DEKU:** Sorry.

You _better be._

 **@DEKU:** When you do _do it,_ I want you to use your Quirk.

Bakugo raised an eyebrow. _Hah?_

 **@DEKU:** Explode inside of me.

Katsuki's brain stopped functioning. He went on auto pilot, typing the first thing that came to his head.

 **@Ground Zero:** Only if you promise to go 100% full cowling on me.

He regretted it the moment he hit Send.

Deku took _awhile to reply._ Possibly thinking up _all sorts_ of snarky put-downs. Katsuki grimaced. _That nerd._

His phone pinged and he almost _didn't want_ to look. But ended up checking anyway. Fuck _him,_ he was insane, he was smitten. Smitten with a Quirkless degenerate stalkerish _All Might fanboy_ who was already _in_ a relationship. Fuck.

 **@DEKU:** Okay! (ง ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)ง Only if you promise not to scream. ( ͡o ͜ʖ ͡o)

..

....

......Katsuki turned his phone off, shut his eyes, and started diligently counting sheep; dead-set on ignoring the tent in his boxers. The last thing he remembered that night was counting the 690-th sheep. _Dammit. Why_ did it _have to_ end on _that number? gjkrurucjyesgwhb_ dnghtrhwebadsmdthssfawswqwazsazsdweaeewqadar!!! **!!!!**!!

..

..

Tokoyami was a morning person, just like Bakugo, so it didn't surprise him in the slightest when they met on the second floor landing, both on their way to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Morning," Katsuki said, sheepishly looking Tokoyami in the eyes.

The other boy offered an easy smile. In the kitchen they each did their own thing, and it was peacefully quiet. Just standing beside the bird man, cutting up some fresh veggies for his breakfast burrito, Katsuki felt _good._ It was uncanny how Tokoyami could have this effect on him. He glanced sideways, to find his hookup buddy fussing with a bowl of oatmeal.

Katsuki smirked, casually patted Tokoyami on the butt, and reached around him for a frying pan. Hell would freeze over before Bakugo turned vegetarian. He cracked open an egg, tossed in five stripes of bacon, and ignited the stove with his bare hands.

Digging into his yogurt oatmeal with raisins, Tokoyami good-naturedly rolled his eyes at him. Katsuki just laughed. Tokoyami didn't know _what_ he was missing!

Friday rolled around, marking the start of yet _another_ weekend, and the end to Katsuki's disproportionate punishment (being grounded and made to do chores _together_ with the Icy Hot Freak). He jumped on this shot to break free of the chains they'd bound him in. But when he entered Teacher's Office to ask permission for spending the weekend at home, Mr. Aizawa gave him a stern talking-to.

"No," the man said. "Absolutely not."

Katsuki frowned, opening his mouth to protest Aizawa's hasty decision, but the man's eyes shot _red._ Quirk activated, erasing Katsuki's explosive powers on the spot! As if Katsuki was some violent _thug_ that had to be restrained at all times. Like _what?_ All he could do was glare at Mr. Aizawa.

"Bakugo, you _just_ got into a fight _with another student. On school grounds,_ in broad daylight. I _can't_ let you go out for the weekend. While your punishment may be over, I want you to _remember_ this. And I don't want it _ever_ to happen again. Because it's not the _first time_ this happened, is it? And that time, All Might let you off with a warning. Have you learned _anything_ from that experience? Or are you consciously _trying_ to make the school look _bad?_ Because _that's_ what you're doing."

Katsuki let out a long and heavy breath. He tried another angle. Putting on his best puppy-dog eyes, he said:

"I miss my parents. Can you please let me see them?"

But Aizawa just shook his head, arms crossed over his chest. "Your parents are welcome to come visit you on campus. But you are not permitted to leave UA High premises throughout the duration of this weekend. Have I made myself clear?"

" _Crystal,"_ Katsuki tsked.

Well, _this_ put quite a wrench in his and Deku's plans for the weekend. Katsuki cringed; it was hard to come to terms with the fact he had _weekend plans **with** **Deku,**_ of _all_ people. Still, Katsuki was _not_ one to give up or make _others_ resolve _his issues._ He was going to _make that meeting_ with the League. He'd just have to sneak out. Easy peasy ~ it was none of Deku's business that Aizawa had forbidden him from leaving school premises. Bakugo wasn't about to get caught. He grinned, easily thinking up a plan that would let him slip in and out of UA undetected.

When the time was right, he snuck inside the truck that delivered support items, and spent the rest of the afternoon huddled behind a stack of boxes. It was a little cold. Fuck, he should've brought a jacket.

His phone vibrated in his jeans. He pulled it out, then rolled his eyes. Apparently Kirishima wanted him for something. Well, whatever. He wasn't doing anything at the moment, so he might as well chat.

 **@RedRiot:** Hi Bakugo. I know we haven't hung out a lot lately, and that's partly my fault. So now that the workload's a little lighter at school, (now that I've finally caught up with all the shit I missed during my Hero Work-Studies), d'you think maybe... we could hang out?

 **@RedRiot:** Can I come over to your room?

Shit.

 _Now_ he had to confide in the idiot with the stupid hair. _Fuck_ Katsuki's life! He _hadn't asked for this._

 **@Ground Zero:** Don't tell anyone, but I'm sneaking out of school. This fucking grounding situation got me up the wall. I need to get away for a bit. Should be back by Saturday morning. SYL.

He typed back, adding an apologetic emoji. And, _as expected,_ the moron replied with:

 **@RedRiot:** Oooohhhh!! So exciting. Can I come with?

 **@Ground Zero:** _NO!_ You DIPSHIT, you're supposed to COVER FOR ME!! Make up some excuse for why I can't come to dinner, say you'll _"check on me"_ or something. I've already got Aizawa on my back, the _LAST_ thing I need is _more_ suspecting teachers.

 **@RedRiot:** Oww. Bummer.

 **@RedRiot:** Will you tell me what this is about? (Later, when you come back.) >> Whom you're sneaking out to see?

Bakugo groaned. _Of course_ the idiot was gonna want _to know._ And he couldn't just blow him off, after asking him a massive favor. So he sighed, texting back:

 **@Ground Zero:** A friend of a friend; nobody you know, I don't think. Just gonna be this boring Friday night house party type of thing. I'm sure it's gonna be lame. Hate it already. And I'm not even _there_ yet.

The response was immediate.

 **@RedRiot:** Awwwwwwwwwwwwww! Now I wanna go even more! :-( :-( :-(

 **@Ground Zero:** Why? It's just gonna be some people _you don't know_ standing around _talking_ for hours. What's so cool about that??

He seriously did not get it. If this meetup wasn't pivotal to his and Deku's plans, he wouldn't even _go._ Like _why?_ What was _the point?_

 **@RedRiot:** I wanna meet more people! :D

 _Of course._ Bakugo rolled his eyes.

 **@Ground Zero:** What if you end up _hating_ them?

What if Katsuki ended up _hating_ the League?

 **@RedRiot:** That's still better than not knowing them at all. I like to put a face to the suckers I hate. So I can print it out, tack it to my punching bag, and sucker punch them to oblivion! :D Best workout ever.

Katsuki had to place a hand over his mouth to stop himself from full-out laughing. He was _trying_ to be covert, dammit. But the mental image of Kirishima going all out on his punching bag while visualizing all the people he hated was just _too much_ for him.

 **@Ground Zero:** See you Saturday.

He sent the message, then quickly turned off his phone (so he wouldn't read Kirishima's reply, and be tempted into responding). _Dammit_ he had a job to do.

The truck started moving and Katsuki shuddered, keeping entirely still. After about twenty minutes the truck parked. The engine shut down. He heard the driver's door clicking open, footsteps coming round the side of the vehicle. The door to the cargo area opened, and the place flooded with light. Katsuki squeezed his eyes to slits. He held his breath, and waited for the delivery guy to carry off one box, then slipped out of the truck.

A gigantic industrial complex loomed behind him. Katsuki grinned, he knew exactly where he was. Toga Technologies, largest producer of Pro Hero Support Items in the Kanto region. It was exactly where his gauntlets were manufactured. This drop off area was open to the public. Katsuki walked with purpose, like he was just another delivery man. Nobody asked him any questions as he walked straight past security and out onto the main road.

Following instructions Deku had given, one bus ride later he sauntered through a quiet residential area. He paused at a nondescript high rise, and frowned up at the building. Katsuki had to admit, he was a little... disappointed? Deku had really hyped up this place like some super secret safe house. Though that could be the point, Katsuki guessed. The more plain it looked, the less unwanted attention it would receive.

He shrugged, walked inside the foyer and buzzed the intercom. It didn't take long before he heard someone's jittery giggling on the other side. Katsuki raised his eyebrows. The voice sounded unmistakably _male._

"What can we do for you on this pleasant evening?"

Rolling his eyes, Katsuki went through the whole song and dance of the password Deku and The League had settled on. This was feeling more _and more_ like some elaborate prank set up to make Bakugo look stupid. He half expected _Deku_ to pop out of nowhere, pointing and laughing, along with that Scar-faced Freakshow in tow, and _maybe_ Stick-up-the-ass Class Rep, _and that Belly-Button Freak._ Then the glass door buzzed open. He grabbed the handle and pushed his way in. Tenth floor; Bakugo took the stairs.

He didn't know _what_ he'd expected when he finally rang the doorbell, but it _wasn't **this.**_ A blonde girl, maybe a couple years older than him, was lounging in the entrance, leaning her curvy hips against the door frame. The smirk on her lips spoke of self-satisfied superiority; the blush on her cheeks made her seem _horny._ Katsuki scowled at her.

"Oh _wow,"_ she practically squealed, speaking in a high pitched voice Katsuki _didn't find attractive._ "You're so different from how I expected you to be, _Lord Massacre."_

She pronounced Deku's Twitter handle _reverently,_ in a _devoted_ tone. Katsuki raised an eyebrow. What the fuck? The _last thing_ he'd expected to meet here was _another **Deku fangirl.**_ Seriously, _where_ were they all coming from? First it was just Uraraka, _then_ that Support Course hippie joined in, then _for some reason_ Dr. Shield's nerdy daughter took a liking to the _Nerd_ (which, in hindsight, sorta kinda made sense ~ because they were _both_ nerds; probably nerded it up together, Katsuki _didn't know!_ ), and then that _weird_ slutty girl from Shiketsu High dug her claws into his Deku, ...and now this. Deku's harem just kept growing and growing. It was not even _fair_ to all the straight guys at their school! (Because it appeared that Deku was _gay_ and had _no use_ for an _all-female_ harem.) Fuck. _Why_ were all these women running after a Quirkless average dude?? It didn't make any sense.

"And _you are?"_ Katsuki grunted, kicking off his sneakers and side-stepping around the blonde nympho.

"Ahhhh! Sorry, I'm Toga." She held out her hand. Katsuki shook it apprehensively. "Himiko Toga," she winked. "You know me better as _Shiklah."_

Katsuki frowned. Toga, huh. Now _where_ had he _heard That Name before?_ "Katsuki Bakugo."

Toga leaned in close and smiled sweetly at him.

"And I'm _gay,"_ Bakugo added, tugging his hand free. The _fuck_ did this Toga bitch want with him?

"Hey, _I know you!"_ the witch suddenly shouted into his ear.

Bakugo took a confused step back.

She kept pointing at him, and coming closer like she didn't get the concept of a 'personal space'. "Your Hero costume was the talk of the town at my family's factory!"

Katsuki blinked.

"Your parents are both fashion designers, aren't they?" Toga giggled. "Well design must run in the blood, because you did a _great job_ designing those gauntlets! The sketches you sent were so detailed, it's like you thought of everything."

Then it hit him.

 _Toga? THAT Toga?_ The one whose parents ran Toga Tech?? Okay, Katsuki got it now.

He coughed, turning his head sideways to avoid speaking directly into Toga's face. She was _really_ that close! How was she _this tall?_ Okay, so _maybe_ she _was_ a few years older, but Katsuki was _a man,_ Goddamn it, this was just embarrassing.

"My parents helped me with the design," he shrugged, "the overall 'Look'. But I designed the rest: all the functional stuff, the sweat storage mechanism, the system of ignition."

Katsuki was about to tell Toga to _back off_ and give him some space, when they both heard another voice from deeper in the corridor. It was the same nervous male voice Bakugo had heard through the intercom.

"Quit hogging him all to yourself, Himiko."

Toga whined, though finally _!finally_ peeled herself off him. Bakugo had begun to think he'd adopted a clingy koala or something.

" _Awwww Jin!_ You're no fun," she made kissy-faces at the man who approached from the shadows.

Bakugo raised an eyebrow. This man appeared to be in his early twenties, tall, relatively well built, with a thin scar running down the center of his forehead. His blond hair was short and wavy. He offered Katsuki a broad smile, and welcomed him into the living room.

Was _this_ the Leader, then? Bakugo cocked his head to one side, following after the man. Toga stayed back to deadbolt the door. Then he heard her eager footsteps pitter patter after him through the hall. _Great._ Locked in a house with a Deku fangirl. Bakugo's night _couldn't_ get worse.

The living room looked fairly conventional: couch, coffee table, TV. Some random alt rock music was on in the background, nothing special but Katsuki could picture himself listening to this, if he had to. One guy danced around the room in a straightjacket, and four Extras sat on the couch, sipping drinks. Katsuki barely listened as the Leader enumerated their names.

Dancing man was 'Moonfish' (what a weird name), went by the Twitter handle @Sweet But A Psycho, (made sense). First couch dude went by Atsuhiro (was that his real name?), used the handle @The Greatest Showman. Katsuki nodded along, without really taking any of this in. Sure, whatever. Could they get to the good part now? He was _here_ to _do something_ about the Quirk Removal bullcrap, _not to **socialize.** Ugh, _Katsuki _hated_ that word.

Second couch potato was some middle schooler named 'Mustard' ( _seriously?),_ his Twitter was @Chemical Warfare. Third couch potato was a big buff fellow who wanted people to call him 'Muscular' (the fuck?), his Twitter was @RAMBO. Katsuki recognized these Twitter handles, but none of their Tweets had been memorable in any way shape or form. They all blended together in this bland soup of words that Katsuki couldn't give two fucks about. He tapped his foot on the floor impatiently as Mister _'Leader'_ announced the _fourth_ couch sitter.

'Dabi', Twitter handle @Azulon. _Okay?_ Katsuki _didn't care._ He barely spared the guy a glance. Like, he didn't have _time_ to deal with all these Extras. He had tuned out the Leader's boring- _as-fack_ monologue when he heard a toilet flush, running tap as someone washed their hands. Then he saw a figure emerge from a side room.

The guy had his back turned to them, and was slightly hunched forward. Although, even hunching, he was _tall._ From this angle Bakugo caught the slightest glimpse of the boy's pastel blue hair... He frowned; it was almost as if...

Then the boy turned around, facing the group with an easy smile, not bothered whatsoever by the disembodied hand resting on his forehead.

"Lord Eruption Massacre, you're here," he said in that familiar soft crackly voice, the one Bakugo had heard a million times on YouTube and on TV. "Welcome to my place. Please, make yourself at home. It's good of you to meet everyone like this. Would you like a drink? I have Cola, but we're out of Fanta, ...I think. A _certain someone_ used up all of it, making non-alcoholic mixed drinks," he pointedly looked at Mustard.

Katsuki was _floored._ "It is _You?!"_

Shimura's eyes refocused on Katsuki.

"Hand Man!" Bakugo found himself screaming, pointing at Shimura in a hurried frenzy. He was _this close_ to asking for an autograph, reputation _be damned._

He had _never_ EVER _not in a million years_ stood _this close_ to a man he looked up to. So _forgive Him_ for freaking out a little, OK _AY?_ And being _ecstatic_ he was in the same room as his favorite celeb, _Wait,_ was _this **His house?!**_ Was Shimura _their Leader?!_ This was sooooooo amazing Katsuki wanted to pinch himself, he was dreaming. No fucking way this was _Real_.

Shimura looked a bit taken aback by Bakugo's enthusiasm. His lips twisted in an awkward grimace. "Eeeuuuhhhh, I don't... ehhh _go by THAT_ _name_ anymore..."

Katsuki wanted to smack himself. Instead, he reached inside his pockets, dug out his cell phone, a permanent black marker, turned the phone around, and _begged_ Shimura to sign his phone case.

After his little freak out, Katsuki sat numbly on the couch, holding his phone like a prized possession and marveling at the neat black scrawl on his bright orange phone case. Because _Yes,_ Hand Man _had_ signed it! (After lots of begging and prodding from Bakugo.) The others had made room for him on the couch: Dabi, Jin and the Musle man had gone outside for a smoke, and the Mustard child was playing a gory video game with Toga on the floor in front of the TV ~ The Evil Within, or some shit.

Atsuhiro sat beside him on the sofa and was being awful chatty, trying to make _goddamn_ smalltalk that Bakugo was _clearly_ not interested in. So Katsuki responded to everything with "Hmm", "Huh", "Really", and "Yeah" or "Nahh".

The source of Bakugo's wonder was presently making popcorn in the kitchen. Shimura was so careful not to touch anything with all five of his fingers, that it led to weird hand gestures Katsuki didn't normally see. Hand Man was not alone in the kitchen; Moonfish was there with him, chopping up vegetables to make a salad. That's how Bakugo got to observe the guy's Quirk: he didn't use a knife to cut the veggies, or his hands to hold them in place.

His _teeth_ extended out of his gaping wide open mouth, and held the celery on the chopping board. While _other teeth_ acted as _knives_ and made quick work of slicing the celery rib to tiny little pieces. Katsuki blinked. Mayhaps he _should be_ paying more attention. Deku would _want_ to know the Quirks of all these Extras. After all, _that_ was Katsuki's _only reason_ for coming here... So he responded to that Atsu Hero's pathetic attempt at striking up a cuntversation.

"Yeah," Katsuki said, pocketing his phone. " _@Pooka_ was just an alt account I used to troll the Group," he shrugged carelessly, " _and_ to +like my own Tweets. I know it's lame, but sometimes you just need the confidence boost, you know."

Atsuhiro chuckled. "I figured something like that." Then the man got this Machiavellian smile on his face, leaned in close, and whispered: "I've actually created parody alts of everyone in the Group! And they don't know it's _me!_ Ha! Tenko kicked my parody alt of _him_ out of the Group."

Katsuki stared at him. _What a Loser..._ He could **_not_** _believe_ Hand Man hung out with _these lameos._

"So what does your Quirk do?" Katsuki said, keeping his tone light and casual.

In the course of the evening Katsuki learned a little about each Group member. What their Quirks were, their general personality, intelligence, age, occupation. Muscular (the oldest member of the Group, at 22 years of age) worked as a personal trainer at a fitness center near Ketsubutsu Academy High. He gave Katsuki a voucher for a Free Of Charge trial session ~ Sweet.

Moonfish was a Chef in Training, which made sense. Although Katsuki wondered if his customers would get in a fright once they discovered the Chef had prepared those dishes _with his teeth!_

Mustard was _still in Middle School,_ being _only **thirteen** years old!_ (What the Hell was he doing here?? _Where_ were his parents? _How_ could they _allow_ their kid to _stay out **this late??** _)

Toga was in college, Nursing major. Shimura didn't want to say what he did for a living... (which honestly surprised and confused Bakugo even more. He remembered hearing that Shimura had left the Pro Hero scene, though nobody really knew _why._ ) Dabi worked in the auto industry, and had to leave early because he had work on Saturday.

After Dabi left, more and more people started to leave, until it was just him and Shimura. For a few moments, it was awkward. Then Shimura cracked a grin and plopped down on the sofa next to him.

"Thank you for doing this for Izuku. I got that you guys don't really get along, but you're both being a great help to the mission."

Katsuki rolled his eyes. " _Deku's_ too much of a _pussy_ so he _asked me_ to meet the Group." He shrugged. "It's not like I mind, or anything. Whatever."

"I'm planning a raid on Shie Hassaikai Pharmaceuticals. I've sent Toga to do some digging, and there's certainly _something_ fishy going on _there._ But she _can't_ get clearance to the sensitive files and _samples_ and stuff." Tenko shrugged. "So I figure an all-out _pillaging_ of the place would be the fastest way to get results. Grab 'em before they see us coming."

That piqued Katsuki's interest. "I can break open locked doors and vaults with my Quirk, but... What if _that_ leads back to me?" he worried his lip, looking askance at Shimura.

They'd _never_ let Bakugo turn Pro Hero if he had a criminal record! His whole future was on the line here.

Shimura patted him on the shoulder (with the palm of his hand, keeping his fingertips off Katsuki). "You'll wear a disguise. So will each of us," he said matter-of-factly. Then he smiled. "You better think up a good Villain name! I got mine picked already," he said, stretching out his other arm to gesture at a far spot on the ceiling. "Tomura Shigaraki."

Katsuki laughed. "That sounds so similar to your real name though," he shook his head.

Tenko pouted, letting his hands drop to his lap. "No way! They're _nothing alike!_ They _only_ share the same initials. Rest is all different. You want to pick a Villain name you can remember, feel comfortable getting called _and_ responding to."

Bakugo smirked. _Okay,_ so _maybe_ he could get along with Shimura. Although he _still_ kinda sorta regarded him as a young god.

They watched Mission Impossible until 2 a.m., which was super late for Bakugo (he couldn't stop yawning, and found it _really_ tough to keep his eyes open near the end), but apparently the norm for Shimura?? And then Tenko brought clean linens and sheets, and helped Katsuki make his bed on the living room sofa.

"Good night," said Tenko before going off to his bedroom.

And Bakugo was alone, inside the living room of his most favorite Pro Hero since he was twelve. Okay, so technically Shimura was no longer a Pro, but what they were doing with this Resistance _Movement_ was goddamn Heroic. And in Bakugo's mind, Shimura had _never_ stopped being a Hero. So whatever, point still stands. That night Katsuki slept like a rose.

~ ~ ~

He threw a rock at the surveillance camera mounted on a distant part of the UA fence, using his Quirk to propel the rock. Then just jumped the fence and snuck back to his dorm. Loud music was coming from his room... Katsuki raised an eyebrow. That could _only_ mean... Oh, yeah ~ right. Kirishima was in there, doing push-ups. The dork had brought along milkshakes and protein bars. Bakugo gratefully bit into one.

"So?" Kirishima leaned forward on his knuckles, "how was it?"

Bakugo shrugged, plopping down on his bed. "I didn't kill anyone."

"Pffft," his friend stood, dusted off his hands, and chugged down bottle after bottle of that _disgusting_ bulk up milkshake stuff.

Bakugo shook his head, searched his pockets, and handed Kirishima that Free Trial gym voucher Muscular had given him. "Here."

Kirishima held this voucher in his hands like he'd been given the keys to the universe, and _wouldn't stop_ thanking him _over and over_ again. Katsuki groaned. _Ugh,_ socializing was _such a drag._ Call him _'introverted'_ or whatever, but he would _never_ get used to it.

He called Deku once Kirishima had left.

 **@Pooka:** I'm back. we debriefing in your room or mine?

 **@Pooka:** both is fine by me, just tell me what you'd like.

 **@Pooka:** _Hello?_ Deku, am I talking to a wall here??

 **@Pooka:** well FUCK YOU too!! ┌П┐(►˛◄’!):

**@DEKU:** Wait, Kacchan, you're _back?!_ Thought you were staying home for the weekend?

 **@Pooka:** Yeah, _that's NOT_ happening. So, you free to talk?

 **@DEKU:** Can we do this in the afternoon? I'm kind of in the middle of something right now...

Katsuki cursed loudly.

 **@Pooka:** _Suuuure, WHATEVER you like,_ Deku!!!

 **@DEKU:** Look, I'm _sorry._ I _didn't know_ you were coming back today. You _could have_ told me.

 _Oh._ So now was _his fault_ , huh?

Katsuki flung the phone across his room. The flap clicked open and his sim card fell out. _Dammit._

Once he picked his phone back up, gingerly tracing over Shimura's signature, inserted the sim card and opened his message center, he found a new text from Deku.

 **@DEKU:** Meet me in my room, two o'clock.

He groaned. _Whatever._ Why was his life _so insane???_

Katsuki came downstairs that afternoon to be greeted by a _very_ unfamiliar sight. He paused in his tracks and just _blinked_ for a moment.

" _Mom??"_ Katsuki stared at the person he'd _least_ expected to see _in the Common Room._ "What are _you_ doing _here?"_

His Mom put her hands on her hips. "Is _that_ any way to greet your Mother? Hmm?" She spread her arms wide and grinned at him. "C'mon, give Mama a hug. Your homeroom teacher Aizawa called and said that you missed us. So I came right away!"

Katsuki groaned internally and allowed himself to be enveloped in a damp warm hug. The school must _really_ have wanted to keep _his little incident with Todoroki_ under wraps, if they _hadn't even_ informed their parents. He briefly wondered what excuse Mr. Aizawa had given his mother for the fact Katsuki was functionally housebound.

"Mr. Aizawa told us you're studying hard for your Provisional Hero License Exam, that's why you couldn't come." Mom whispered, ruffling his hair. She looked _proud._

 _Oh._ That _fucking_ Provisional License Exam!

He quickly texted Deku to tell him he wasn't gonna make it, and joined his mother on a stroll around campus. This wasn't _too bad._ At least he finally got to spend some time with his Mom. (He would _never_ tell it to her face, but secretly, he liked it.)

Mom had to leave at five (she had some errands to do downtown), and Katsuki made his way back to the dorms after seeing her off at the gate. She made him promise her he would be good and would study well and prepare for the Provisional License Exam, and actually pass it this time. Bakugo was a man of his word. He _would_ pass it this time around. He _knew_ he _could._

So he stomped up the steps, into the Common Room... where Deku _and Todoroki_ were making out on the sofa.

WHAT

THE

FUCK

Katsuki did a double take. _When??_ WHAT? _How?_ Wasn't _Deku_ dating that sparkly blond twink?????? _Who?_ _W h y_ had _nobody_ told _him??_

Wait a second, ...was DEKU _cheating on_ Aoyama?? _Could_ Katsuki use this as blackmail _against him?_

Twisted evil plots started manifesting in Katsuki's brain where he _finally FINALLY_ had Deku under his thumb, threatening him with the knowledge, making him _PAY_ for outclassing Katsuki in _literally everything._ He did not notice he was laughing darkly until Deku pulled away from Todoroki, got up from the sofa, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Kacchan, are you alright?"

Katsuki violently shrugged Deku off him. He _glared_ at the smaller guy. Deku had the audacity to look genuinely surprised.

"I _saw_ what you _did,"_ Katsuki hissed, angry grin creeping back on his lips.

Deku frowned. "What do you mean?"

Katsuki growled. He could not _believe This._ _First_ Deku was actively _flirting with him,_ while being in a relationship with Aoyama. _Then_ Deku was openly _kissing_ Todoroki on the Common Room sofa. And _now_ he was _denying_ any of it happened! What a _Hero,_ people, come and see, Deku _the Great,_ Deku the Righteous, Deku _the Honest_ Hero of UA High. What a load of crap!

" _Don't play dumb!_ Just seconds ago, _you_ were _cheating_ on your boyfriend!"

Bakugo pointed at that Todoroki bastard, who was lounging on the sofa like he had done _nothing_ wrong. The _bitch._

And then the _strangest thing_ happened. Deku, _fucking Deku,_ laughed at him.

"Ohh! Oh you _thought_ I was _cheating?_ Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!! Oh, Kacchan, this the funniest shit I've heard all week. Haha hahaa ha haaha ha ha haa!!!"

Deku doubled over from laughter. Both Bakugo and Todoroki blinked at him. Bakugo stared at the green haired nerd with surprise, while Todoroki's face showed no feelings at all.

"Look," Deku finally said, tears streaming down his cheeks from laughter. He placed his hand on Bakugo's shoulder once more. "Yucchan _knows._ I asked him, and he's _OK_ with it."

Bakugo frowned. "Who the fuck is _'Yucchan'?"_

Instead of answering the goddamn question, Deku cracked up even more.

~ ~ ~

That whole day the question kept nagging at Hisao, but he was at work, so there wasn't much he could do about it. He had been _stunned_ when he saw a _very familiar_ face in Tenko's living room last night, but he hadn't let it show. He had gone out for a smoke to calm his nerves; and Jin and Muscular had followed him.

What the Hell was _little Bakugo_ doing at a place like this??

After his frustrating day at work Hisao let out a long breath, reclined on Tenko's couch (yes, he was back there), and texted Izuku.

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** Yo Zuzu, this may seem totally random, but...

 **@DEKU:** Lay it on me.

Hisao pursed his lip, ripping off the bandaid. He knew this was a sensitive topic for his little brother, but what if that Bakugo brat was in danger? So he bit the proverbial bullet and just _asked._

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** You still in touch with Kacchan?

 **@DEKU:** This _is_ random.

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** I know.

 **@DEKU:** Well, he's my classmate. We live in the same dorm building, though on totally different floors.

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** Huh.

 **@DEKU:** What? Did something happen to Kacchan?

Hisao gulped. _Shit._ Zuzu was _observant._ Always had been, ever since they were kids. But there were _certain things_ Zuzu was better off _not knowing,_ so Hisao tried to deflect.

**@Hisao Midoriya:** _What?_ No! ...I was just, ... _oh, forget it Zuzu,_ not important.

 **@DEKU:** Saochan... ͠° ͟ʖ ͡° You're hiding something from me.

Hisao grumbled at his phone.

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** It's seriously nothing important. Don't worry about it.

 **@DEKU:** You know THAT only makes me worry _more!_

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** It's nothing your big brother can't handle. Take it easy, focus on school, getting the grade. Keep my fingers crossed for you. It's ok to put your career first. You deserve this Zuzu, I mean it.

 **@DEKU:** You _aren't_ cutting again, _are you?_

Something awful choked him up inside, and Hisao felt like throwing up. He rolled over on the sofa and waited for the feeling to pass. Deep breaths, is what the therapist had said when teaching breathing techniques: in, ...out. He was _better_ than this, he was _stronger_ than this, and he _hadn't_ cut _in months,_ so _why_ would he start _now?_

Good, he was good. He was going to be okay. Zuzu was only worried about him, but _still_. Hisao was an adult now, he had to set _boundaries._ His little brother may be a Hero-in-Training, but it was _not_ Zuzu's _job_ to poke and prod around _other people's_ _minds_. He was meant to save people from Villains, _NOT_ save people _from themselves!_

**@Hisao Midoriya:** _Gawd Zuzu!_ You're _worse_ than Mom!

 **@DEKU:** I'm coming right over Saochan.

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** You will do NO SUCH THING. and besides, I'm not even at home rn.

 **@DEKU:** Where are you?

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** At a friend's place, we're watching a movie. He's taking a piss break, so we put the movie on pause.

 **@DEKU:** Saochan, you have friends?

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** Ha ha, very funny.

 **@DEKU:** No, but seriously: if you need me, I can come over. Tomorrow is not even a school day. I could stay the night, we'd play Overwatch, like old times.

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** Thank you Zuzu, but (as I said), you don't need to do that. I'm actually _with someone_ *right now*. o__O Shouldn't even be texting, Fuck. (if he walks in _now,_ he'll get the WRONG IDEA and think im bored or something! SHIT.)

 **@DEKU:** _Oh._ Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, ...you found _a new flame?_ So quickly after...? Thought you still had an online crush on Facepalm guy.

Oops. Shit, was it too late to backtrack?

**@Hisao Midoriya:** It's... umm.. _complicated._ I *cant* explain right now, SORRY!

 **@DEKU:** Oh, right. (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖) Wish you the best of luck, Saochan.

Hisao felt his face heat up in embarrassment.

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** Zu _zu!_

 **@DEKU:** What? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) I just want my brother to get lucky. ¯\\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯ What's wrong with that? You really deserve it, Saochan.

Hisao groaned, typing his response.

 **@Hisao Midoriya:** That French boy is a BAD influence _on you._

Seriously, ever since _those two_ started dating, it was like his darling little brother had had a personality transplant! Izuku had learned what sarcasm was, and the little shit _never stopped using it._ Even when the situation was _wildly_ inappropriate.

So Hisao decided it was _time_ for a time-out. He clicked a few buttons and brought up his contact list, waited for the thing to load. Then he clicked one more button, and was surprised by how much satisfaction that simple action gave him.

**@Hisao Midoriya** blocked **@DEKU**.

He didn't hear the light footsteps that walked in the room, nor see the hopeful face that crumpled upon seeing him on the phone _with someone else._ Only when Tenko sat down to the right of him on the sofa, avoiding Hisao's legs, did he look up in horror. Tenko unpaused the movie without saying a word. _Fuck,_ had Tenko _seen him_ on the phone, texting? Shit. Hisao threw anxious looks at the guy every now and then, when there was a lull in the action on TV.

It was a dumb movie anyway, Die Hard With A Vengeance or some shit. Hisao really didn't give a shit if he _missed_ some of it. So what? What was gonna happen if he did miss a scene or three? Nothing, that's what.

Tenko turned up the volume to _painful_ levels. Was he _angry?_

Shit. After twiddling his thumbs for _God knows how long,_ Hisao crawled up to the other guy, pushed his hair aside with his nose, drinking in the scent _of him,_ and set his lips on the man's neck, cautiously licking. And suckling, and kissing and nipping. He breathed warm air against Tenko's neck, hoping to warm him up inside.

Tenko did not respond. He just... _allowed it_ to happen _to him,_ as he sat there stiffly, staring straight ahead at Quirkless Bruce Willis take some unlikely action on TV.

Hisao detached his lips from Tenko's neck, and rested his forehead on the man's left shoulder. "Should I leave?" he murmured, unable to _hide_ how sad that made him.

"If that's what you want to do Dabi," his friend said in a hoarse voice, sounding neither pleased nor unhappy.

Hisao sighed. "Come on Tenko, you _know_ that's not what I want."

When his lover replied, he sounded like he didn't care. "Then stay."

Groaning, Hisao moved off Tenko, and leaned back on the far end of the couch. Ten minutes passed like that, maybe more. Then suddenly his host was reducing the volume without pausing the movie. Hisao blinked; watching as Tenko leaned into him, reached up and touched his cheek with two fingers.

The fingers trailed down, till they were tilting Hisao's chin toward his friend's piercing ruby-eyed stare. Hisao frowned at him.

Tenko closed his eyes, and brought his lips close as if to kiss him, but held back at the last moment, breathing on his mouth. "Whom were you texting just now?"

 _Oh!_ He _sounded jealous!_ Hisao's heart rate sped up, secretly _loving this._

"Just my little brother. He wanted something," Hisao lied ~ Izuku hadn't wanted anything... _he_ was the one who had wanted to make sure the Bakugo brat was safe.

A little white lie never hurt anyone. Right? Hisao certainly _hoped_ so. Tenko let out a sharp breath. It ruffled against Hisao's damaged skin; he shivered.

His lover sounded small and fragile when he croaked: "Does he know?"

That one question implied a litany of things, but Hisao had a feeling he _understood_ what Tenko meant. Does your brother know you're here with me? Am I your dirty little secret? Or is _this,_ what we have, is it something more? Can you picture yourself introducing me to your family at some point? Or is _'friends with benefits'_ the only thing we'll ever be?

All these unvoiced questions broke Hisao's heart inside. He felt crushed under the weight of them. And, wanting to reassure Tenko, he ran his hands down the man's shoulders, down his arms, moving in soft comforting circles.

"Yeah," Hisao gulped. "I blocked him."

Tenko pulled back to look at him.

Hisao blinked, confused. Had he said _the wrong thing?_ And then Tenko burst out laughing, reaching high pitches Hisao had never heard from him before. (Even when they had sex, Tenko's moans never got so high.) Hisao sat there, stunned.

" _What?"_ Tenko guffawed. "You blocked _your own_ brother?"

Hisao started feeling uncomfortable. "I'll unblock him later. He was just... being a cunt."

Tenko shook with laughter, falling into Hisao's lap ~ and hey, Hisao was not complaining.

After some time Tenko sat up and gently stroked Hisao's hair, his ear studs, stroking with two fingers, careful not to touch. Tenko gave him the softest smile; then leaned in and kissed him slow, deep. Their tongues intertwined, breaths intermingled.

Hisao's hands traveled up Tenko's sides again. The man let out a soft purr, set his knees on opposite sides of him on the sofa, and pushed his hard-on down onto Hisao's lap. That made Hisao's eyes shoot open. They made eye contact. Hitched breaths, serious faces.

In an urgent whisper Tenko said, "Let's take this to the bedroom?"

Hisao bit his own lip. "Do you want to ... _uhh_ top?"

Asking this question _never stopped_ being awkward, _fuck._ Hisao held his breath, praying to whatever Gods existed that he _wouldn't_ get rejected right then and there.

Breathless, clawing at Hisao's shirt with his weak handed grip, Tenko hissed: "Don't care, I just want _you_ right now."

Hisao latched his teeth onto Tenko's neck, and _sucked._ Tenko groaned.

"I'm all yours," Hisao whispered into Tenko's ear.

~ ~ ~

After Izuku had finished explaining the definition of a consensual Open Relationship to a flabbergasted Katsuki, it was already dark out, and most UA students were having dinner. Katsuki had this shell-shocked look on his face like his _entire world_ had just imploded.

Izuku sighed. "We _should_ get dinner, come on." He tugged a mostly lifeless Katsuki along by his shirt sleeve.

Dinner was _okay;_ Momo had volunteered to cook tonight (trying a new recipe she'd found online). Although throughout dinner, Kacchan avoided making eye contact with anyone. It was particularly awkward for Ochaco, who sat directly opposite Katsuki at the dinner table. Izuku sent her _sorry-_ smiles, hoping _that_ made up for it.

Once dinner was over, the table cleared, and all the were dishes done, Izuku didn't have to ask Bakugo to come over to his room. Bakugo _grabbed_ his wrist, (in front of everyone!), and _marched_ upstairs. Izuku wanted to die of embarrassment. Fuck _him,_ why did these things _always_ happen to him?!?

He made brief eye-contact with Yucchan before Bakugo _dragged him out of_ the Common Room, and mouthed << Sorry! >>.

Yuga responded with a secretive smile and a thumbs up. << It's okay, >> he mouthed back. << Go have a good time Zuzu! >>

Izuku groaned. Sometimes his boyfriend was _too understanding._

"I'm only going to say this _once,"_ Katsuki said once they were in Izuku's room. "So pay attention, _yeah?"_

Izuku grabbed a spare notebook, and bit the cap off his pen; already in note-taking mode. Eagerly he nodded.

"Alright. So, seven people in total."

Quickly jotting down the number 7, Izuku nodded for Kacchan to continue.

"Six men, one woman."

Check.

"Maybe _'men'_ is a big word. There's this young kid among them."

"How young?" Izuku interrupted before he could stop himself, looking up at his childhood friend.

Katsuki scowled. "I'm _getting to That."_ He sighed, "now, where was I...? Right, six guys, one girl. Ages ranging from thirteen to twenty-two."

Izuku whistled, noting it down. Katsuki glared at him.

"The girl is that Toga Tech brat; her family runs the company. She's a Nursing student. Quirk ~ undetermined."

Looking up, Izuku squeezed his eyes to slits. "Have you learned _anything_ about their Quirks? I asked you to _be my eyes_ Kacchan, NOT spend Friday night goofing off."

"I was _getting to that,_ Jeez _Izuku,_ is being a little patient _that much_ to ask?"

Izuku blinked. He stared and _watched_ Kacchan rant at him... the other boy having not even noticed he had _called him **by his real name**_ for once.

"So, as I was saying, Himiko Toga, aka Shiklah, aka obnoxious horny _pain in the ass_ must have some sort of camouflage Quirk that makes her a suitable choice for recon missions."

Having overcome his _shock_ at NOT being called 'Deku' _for once,_ Izuku nodded, scribbling away.

"Rambo, aka Muscular, twenty-two years old, real name unknown to The League, is a coach at some no-name fitness gym. Quirk augments his muscles, giving him super strength and speed."

Kacchan paced around the room, glaring daggers at all the All Might merch. Izuku sweat-dropped.

"Sweet But A Psycho, aka Moonfish, total wack job; Chef in Training. Twenty years of age. Says he's been institutionalized hundreds of times ~ probably true. Wears a straightjacket, does _not_ look right in the head."

Izuku shivered, getting the chills just writing this down.

"His teeth extend quite far out of his mouth. He can use them as knives. Specifically he used them to make a salad for dinner."

"What the _fuck!"_ Izuku squawked.

"Yeah," Kacchan shrugged, "my thoughts exactly. Then we have My Chemical Romance, _oh sorry,_ Chemical Warfare, aka Mustard, perfectly unremarkable middle schooler. His Quirk stinks up a room and makes a bunch of people fall asleep."

The conversation went on like this; Katsuki monologuing while Izuku took notes. They were both standing. Izuku with a notebook in hand; Katsuki making wild gestures with his hands to accompany the often quite scathing remarks he made. When he got to one _particular_ team member, Izuku sharpened his focus.

"Azulon, aka Dabi: face and arms look badly cut up. Like," Kacchan wavered his hand, "the skin got peeled off in places. And it's _weirdly symmetric too,_ almost like it's someone's fucked up aesthetic."

Izuku stopped writing. His pen nearly fell to the floor. His eyes must have reached the size of saucer plates. He didn't have to listen to Katsuki to _know_ the rest of the profile. This _was_ Hisao, no doubt about it.

"He's nineteen," Katsuki went on, like he hadn't noticed the _look_ on Izuku's face (let's face it, he _probably hadn't:_ Kacchan was looking at _everything but_ Izuku, almost like he was avoiding making eye contact). "Works as a mechanic on the Toyota production line, melting metal alloys with his Quirk: Blue Fire or something something. Hey, Deku, you're not gonna write that down?"

Okay, so maybe Kacchan _had_ been paying attention. Izuku's eyes met Katsuki's, and before he knew it, he was saying:

"Dabi _is_ Saochan... my brother."

A beat passed by in silence. Then:

" _Hah!?"_ Katsuki growled. "Then _what the FUCK_ did you need _me_ to 'be your eyes' for, huh? If you _could've_ just _asked your brother?!!"_

He said that last part with a wild swing of his arms, which nearly upset Izuku's rare collection of All Might action figures.

Izuku grumbled. "I _didn't_ know, _okay?_ My brother _doesn't_ tell me _everything._ You have _no idea_ what it's even like to _have a brother,_ so SHUT _UP."_

Katsuki blinked, and so did Izuku ...(shocked by his own outburst).

~ ~ ~

Sunday morning Tenko awoke with a start. Leatherface had been chasing him in his dreams, with a chainsaw raised over his head. Tenko shook the imagery from his mind. He should _really_ stop watching movies right before going to sleep. _Then_ he rolled over and spotted Dabi in bed with him.

Oh. Right, remind him again _why_ he was _with_ this guy...

Tenko puckered his lips. ... _Yeah,_ because _no one else_ will have your sorry ass. He sighed; he was _so_ pathetic. He crawled out of bed, already hating his day even though it hadn't truly started yet. His backside still hurt from last night ~ thank you Dabi.

He ditched his hand braces on the night table, struggled out of the sweaty artist gloves, flexed his fingers, and pulled on a pair of sweats. Black hoodie over his head, _good,_ now he felt human enough to saunter off to the kitchen and fix himself some coffee that he _badly_ needed. Glugging the hot liquid down, he checked his phone, only to find _two_ unread messages _from Kai!_

Hardly able to contain his excitement, Tenko ran his eyes over the first text.

**@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** Hey _Neko-chan,_ finishing up this project at work and I finally have some free time to spend with you next weekend. What do you say? Wanna pick up where we left off last Saturday?

His heart did a flip, and he hastily opened the second message.

**@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** I make it a rule not to fuck on the first date, but I've got no such restrictions when it comes to the _second_ date. What about you?

Tenko nibbled on his fingernails, smiling widely as he typed back.

 **@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** _Fuck yeah,_ you should rearrange my clothes again. I want to _feel_ the effect of your Quirk, Kai.

Before he knew it Kai was _responding!!_ Typing... typing a message back. It made something warm bloom in Tenko's chest to _know_ they were both talking to each other, _thinking about_ each other _at the very same time!_

**@Doctor Schnabel from Rome:** That's awesome. I'll make reservations at Sato's for Sunday, and perhaps we can do something fun before dinner. A walk in the park, or if the weather's awful that day I could take you to a nice museum in the area.

**@Never Facepalmed So Hard In My Life:** Perfect.

Tenko found himself replying, grinning lopsidedly at his phone.

He didn't notice Dabi stand in the doorway to the kitchen, until the man approached him from behind. Tenko looked up. He still held onto his phone, with Kai's last text message on full display.

"Whom were _you_ messaging?" said Dabi, resting his chin on Tenko's right shoulder.

Tenko smiled innocently. "A new recruit to our Group."

Dabi raised his eyebrows. The rest of his cut up face remained expressionless. Perhaps it _could have_ shown more emotion, had his facial muscles still been functional. Not for the first time, Tenko felt that Dabi's face was like a mask. A mask he could hide _so many_ secrets behind.

The other man's gaze flicked to Tenko's hands, and the phone he still held onto. In the most sarcastic tone he'd _ever_ heard Dabi use, the man read Kai's text out loud.

"... _''' I'll make reservations at Sato's for Sunday, and perhaps we can do something fun before dinner. A walk in the park, or ''''_ ..."

Dabi's voice abruptly cut off, then reverted back to its usual tone:

"Sounds like a romantic date. You into that type of shit?"

A flush came upon Tenko's cheeks. There was very little he could do to stop himself from reacting this way, when Dabi was _practically_ hugging him from behind, while throwing Tenko's insecurities in his face.

"So what if I _am?"_

Dabi let out a warm breath against Tenko's neck, making him shiver. He sounded oddly _disappointed_ when he next spoke:

"Thought you were more of a Netflix and chill type of guy."

Wait, _what?_ Tenko blinked in the silence that followed. What was Dabi trying to say here? They had always done it this way: in the cover of the night. And next morning, _every_ morning, _Dabi_ had acted like _nothing had happened_ between them. Like they were just Bros, and nothing but Bros.

And _now_ _he_ was _mad_ that Tenko was making dinner plans _with someone else?_ _After_ Dabi had _refused_ to treat him as _anything_ other than a quick and easy fuck?

Well _excuse him_ for wanting to be someone's special someone.

Tenko pouted, staring off at the kitchen counter while pocketing his phone. "You never even asked me out."

There was a pause. Then Dabi's velvety voice in his ear said: "Are you free next Sunday?"

"I'm meeting Kai that day."

He started making two new cups of coffee, with Dabi's arms still wrapped around him.

"Can't you move it to Saturday?" said Dabi. "I only have Sunday free."

Tenko paused his motion, bag with ground coffee suspended precariously above the coffee maker.

" _What?_ No."

He didn't have to think twice about it. Setting the bag of coffee down on the counter, he broke free from Dabi's hold and spun around to face the bastard.

Tenko pushed a finger into his chest. " _I_ can't help it that _you_ don't know how to romance someone!"

Dabi blinked at him. Then, in an earnest tone, he suggested: "Ok, how about we do something fun _today?"_

Tenko tilted his head to one side. Well _this_ was an unexpected development. "Something fun like what?" he asked, genuinely curious to know what Dabi had planned...

"Uhhh..." was all that came out of his lover's mouth.

Rolling his eyes dramatically, Tenko gave up on the coffee and stormed back to his bedroom. "I'll let you figure it out, but right now I got work to do." He sat down at his desk and booted up his computer.

He heard Dabi's voice hovering above him. " _Work?_ But it's a Sunday..."

Tenko groaned. " _Someone's_ got to prep for the raid on Shie Hassaikai Pharmaceuticals. These things don't happen by itself."

Dabi sat on the edge of the bed, head in hands. "I need a smoke."

"Night table, bottom drawer."

"Thanks," said Dabi, reclining back and scooping a pack of cigarettes from the drawer without moving his feet ~ tsk, so lazy.

~ ~ ~

"Put him on loud."

Toshinori pursed his lips, sending Shota a look. His blond hair was all tousled, splayed out on the bed sheets, "Are you sure you want to hear what...?"

"Yes."

The blond man sighed, but _did_ put the phone call on loudspeaker, just as Shota had asked. When _David Shield's_ peppy voice came through, Shota rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, pretending none of this was happening.

"Okay, let's video chat soon Dave. Tell Mel I said Hi," said Toshinori, laughing heartily into the receiver.

Then he hung up. _Thank God_ he hung up. Shota rolled over and tangled his fingers in Toshinori's unruly strands of hair.

"I _hate it_ when _your ex_ calls you," Shota admitted, untangling blond locks as he worked his fingers through the other man's mane of hair.

Toshinori looked almost _personally insulted_ when he gaped at him and said: "We have _a child together!"_

"I _know,"_ Shota groaned. _God did he know_ that _David Shield_ had extracted his own genetic material from his own sperm and placed it inside a hollowed out egg cell. _Then_ inseminated that egg cell with Toshinori Yagi's semen, and raised the embryo to term inside an artificial womb. Sixteen years ago, this had been groundbreaking technology.

The young parents had both been twenty-four years old at the time. Doctor Shield had made his degree on this project. _Now_ Toshinori was forty years old, back in his home country and long since divorced, and yet it was _still_ impossible to imagine a day in his life without David _somehow_ featuring in it.

 _Stupid_ _David_ with his _'Bendy Fingers'._ So what if he gave better anal? Didn't he know _when_ to just _fuck off?_ Couldn't he _tell_ All Might was _in a relationship?_ No wonder all of Toshinori's subsequent partnerships never lasted long, if _this_ is what they had to go through.

Shota dragged a hand through his own shaggy hair before looking gloomily into Toshi's dark eyes.

"And your daughter is amazing, a good and smart kid, don't get me wrong. But does _David have to_ occupy such a huge part of your life?"

Toshinori puckered his lips in a disagreeing pout. "It's _not_ a huge part."

"YES it is! You call each other _every day._ In the mornings to say _'Good morning', and_ in the _evening_ to tell each other 'Good night'."

A warm and calloused hand was placed against Shota's stubbly cheek. "Come on Sho, you know you're the only one for me."

Blue eyes gazed upon him from the deepest dark depths. Shota found himself wavering; his resolve crashed on the shore that _was_ All Might, nerves of steel, a will that could lay a path through anywhere. He kissed the man's lips, slowly, tentatively. Trying to establish himself, to solidify his own claim on Toshi. But he only succeeded in falling harder for the man, getting sucked deeper in the endless vortex around All Might, falling further under his spell.

~ ~ ~

Wednesday evenings were always reserved for dinner with his foster father; and tonight was no different. Atsuhiro drove them in his little silver two-door Daihatsu. Tenko sat up front, fiddling with the stupid car radio; Jin and Himiko were in the back, cuddling.

"So," Atsuhiro spoke lightly, drawing Tenko's attention away from Shonan Beach FM, and to his ginger haired friend. "How _are_ things going with _the good doctor?"_

Tenko rolled his eyes. "Oh fuck off," he sighed.

Atsuhiro laughed. "No, but really. Jokes aside, I'm glad you're seeing someone. This could be good for you."

" _What?"_ Tenko groaned. He stuck his face out the car window to feel sea breeze on his skin. "Dating an internet troll?"

"Is he _really_ like that offline?"

Tenko made a vague gesture with his right hand. "He's _worse."_

They drove through weaving roads that stretched between the rocks covered in densely grown pine. The scenery here was wonderful, but it was too dark to see beyond the headlights. Before long, Master Otosaka's mansion loomed on the horizon. Tenko buzzed the gate when the Daihatsu paused by the fence.

"Hi Master, I'm home!"

And the gate slid open.

Himiko poked her head out of the back. "Why don't you just call him 'Dad'?"

Jesus, he didn't even know _what to say._ There were times when Tenko wondered if Himiko was autistic; she seemed so bad at reading social cues. This was one of those times.

Atsuhiro chuckled at Tenko's _obvious_ discomfort.

"Well I just don't," he finally settled on saying. Just as Atsuhiro parked the car in the turnaround, close by Master Otosaka's front door.

His foster father was waiting for them in the sitting room, along with a few business associates who had long since morphed into that fuzzy area of 'family friends'. To the point where it was no longer really certain if they were meeting up because they were in business together, or because they _wanted to be_ in business together. For example Okuta hadn't been officially employed at All For One corp _for years now,_ but he _always_ showed up to these Wednesday dinners at his foster father's place. Tenko couldn't picture a Wednesday evening _without_ Okuta seated along the dining table, sipping on a glass of whiskey and regaling them with a silly story from his stockbroker days.

Kurogiri waved them over. "Good Toga, you're here." He motioned for Himiko to sit in an antique leather armchair. "Now you can finally weigh in on the question. _Should_ healing type Quirks be used more widely in the field of medicine, or not?"

"Well," she clasped her hands together, sinking into the armchair with a smile on her face. "It would be awesome if everyone who worked in the field was also born with a strong healing Quirk."

Master Otosaka nodded; it seemed like they had been on this topic for quite awhile _before_ Tenko and his friends arrived. Curious, Tenko pulled a wooden chair close, and sat on its edge, careful not to touch anything.

"But an interest in the field of medicine _and_ a useful healing Quirk don't always go hand in hand," Himiko went on. "Besides, healing Quirks are needed elsewhere, too. Pro Hero agencies would be in a lot of trouble if they didn't have strong healers."

Those words brought a discreet smile to the Master's lips. But he said nothing about it, and the matter got dropped just as easily. Half an hour later they were all seated at the dining table, digging into the first course of a three-course meal. Tenko's spoonful of corn potage soup dangled precariously in his three-fingered grasp when Master Otosaka said:

"I have heard the Diet tried to pass a bill that was very worrying."

Tenko's hand stilled with the spoon on its way to his mouth. He _knew about_ the bill Master was referring to. It was a certified disaster. _Thank God_ it had been voted out.

"Yes," Kurogiri said with a loathsome sigh. "Those Quirkless idiots in the National Diet are _still_ so pitifully _scared_ _of us,_ they would rather _restrict_ the use of our Quirks than provide the country with the necessary infrastructure to deal with fallout from Quirk abuse."

"I have designed construction plans for bridges better equipped to handle sudden explosions or villain fights that break out every other week," Atsuhiro pitched in. "But will anyone buy them?" He shook his head. " _No._ My own architect company told me to stop wasting time."

Atsuhiro stared flatly across the table.

"Makes you wonder," Okuta said around a sip of his whiskey, " _why_ are people who have no Quirk at all so grossly over-represented in our government?"

Kurogiri shrugged. "That's the only thing they're good for."

"They see us as _nothing_ but _freaks,"_ Jin growled. He wiped his palm over his face; in a lighter pitched whinier voice, he followed up with: "I'm _sick_ of being called _a freak!"_

Tenko hummed. "They see _only_ the negatives. _Then_ take credit for the achievements of the Pro Heroes."

Master looked really saddened by all this. He stirred his soup around his plate, then said solemnly:

"We act like our society has changed and improved. But a lot of things are still the same."

There was a big pause, as everyone seated around the dinner table took some time to collect their thoughts and observe the others' reactions to what had been said. Then Okuta let loose his wild hyena laugh (which meant he was completely drunk), and said:

"Laws don't mean _shit_ when half the country can't accept Quirks as the new normal. And even _Quirk users_ discriminate against _each other_ for having _'evil Quirks',_ whatever the Hell _that shit_ means."

 _Okuta would know ~_ he had the power to erase people's memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The illustration in this installment depicts Tenko in his Hero costume (from his UA High days), winning a supervised 'training battle' against Natsuo Todoroki (who has ice bending powers!!).
> 
> And im working on a drawing of Deku and Dabi ~ check my Twitter: ~~ <https://twitter.com/KaivaKoenig/status/1267224578830610433>
> 
> Liked the idea of (middle schooler) Bakugo being a Hand Man (Shimura) fanboy, so I just ran with it. XD i mean, kids like Katsuki _were_ Pro Hero Tenko's target audience: the messed up rebellious teens who couldn't identify with 'perfect' heroes like All Might.
> 
> I feel like Bakugo used to be an All Might fanboy as a little kid, but then some stuff happened (his friendship with Izuku soured, among other things: adults kept relying on him "to be tough", "boys don't cry" and he had to "grow up" and "deal with it") and he could no admire All Might the same way he had as a little kid (without remembering Izuku, the carefree days, the friendship they had), and he sorta "grew out of it". And when Tenko Shimura made his UA High debut three years ago (when Katsuki was 12), Bakugo could relate _a lot more_ to Tenko's brand of Heroism than he could relate to flawless All Might.
> 
> (Of course, All Might's 'flawless image' was just a front all along, but Katsuki didn't know that when he was twelve. All he saw was what All Might wanted him to see, and he _couldn't_ find himself in that.)
> 
> I also want to make it clear that Bakugo _idolizes_ Tenko Shimura in that childish way you look up to someone who sets an example for you, someone you want to be like when you grow up/older. This is not a crush. This is very different from a crush. It's blind adoration, and you see this person as more of a god than an actual human being (the way Izuku Midoriya looks up to All Might in canon), you are blind to their flaws, you see them as them as the embodiment of all that is right in the world. Like, in this AU, I can picture Bakugo looking up to Tenko in a similar way.
> 
> I'm _NOT_ turning this into some sort of romantic attraction. Bakugo might be gay (in this fanfic), but that doesn't mean he's romantically attracted _to all guys._ Or that he can't have a _purely platonic_ admiration of another man.
> 
> The way Bakugo feels about Shimura here is _less_ like "I want to fuck him", and _more like_ "I want to **_be_** him."
> 
> Just putting that out there. You _can_ admire someone _without_ wanting to bone them! And admiration does not equal (romantic) love. Those things are fundamentally different concepts. ((They _can_ happen together [you _can_ admire someone you're romantically attracted to], but these feelings don't have to concur. You can _absolutely_ admire someone you do not love at all.))
> 
> And _heck yeah_ Toga is a Nurse in training!! :-D (where else she gonna get all that _'sweet blood'??)_
> 
> Also i have no idea how the fuck this chapter got that long.
> 
> [ i blame it on not being attentive to wordcount while plotting, and planning out chapters based on story beats rather than wordcount. so often my chapters will balloon in size and have generally random wordcount ~ anything from 4K to 30K. .....when it comes to longfic, chapters shorter than 4K dont feel like chapters to me, so when writing long fiction i try to _at least_ put 4K words in each chapter. it somehow really bothers me when i read a 400+ pages thriller, and the book has over 100 chapters, some of them being 1 page long. -_-" ....like come on, dude. can i get some more 'meat' to my chapters??
> 
> because i feel like _every_ chapter should have an arc. and be like a legit unit of the story. otherwise why the fuck is it a chapter? one single scene does not a chapter make. also, if absolutely every 'chapter' ends on a cliffhanger, then cliffhangers lose their emotional effect. you feel less of the _SUSPENSE_ when absolutely each and every chapter ends with _Dun dun dun...!_ ]
> 
> also i got carried away writing the BakuDeku scenes. XD !! Bakugo wasn't even supposed to _be_ in the 'visiting Mirio' scene, but _somehow_ wormed his way inside.


End file.
